DETROIT (AP) — Claressa Shields knocked out WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse early in the second round Saturday night, earning titles in a fourth and fifth division.
Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, moved up two weight classes to fight at 175 pounds as a light heavyweight and also claimed Lepage-Joanisse’s heavyweight belt. Her previous titles were at 154, 160 and 168 pounds.
She joined Roy Jones Jr. as the only two boxers in more than 100 years to win middleweight and heavyweight titles. That’s another feat that makes her one of the greatest athletes of all time in any sport, according to Shields.
“What I’ve been able to do in my career, from the amateur to the pros, I’m definitely top five,” Shield said. “If you want to put me up there next to Michael Jordan, Kobe (Bryant), Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali. I’m definitely in that conversation.”
Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) ended the first round with a series of combinations and started the second with more, barely breaking a sweat, and landed a flurry of shots that sent Lepage-Joanisse down for the third and final time 1:09 into the round.
Lepage-Joanisse (22-3-1) was on defense from the start of her short night.
Shields boxed for the first time since defending her undisputed middleweight title with a lopsided unanimous decision over Maricela Cornejo nearly 14 months ago.
In between bouts, she improved to 2-1 as a MMA fighter in February.
Shields gained 15 pounds, then lost five pounds, before weighing in at just under 175 pounds.
“I was able to eat a lot of pho,” she said. “Usually, I have to be careful with noodles in camp because of the carbs.”
She sparred against men, including one who weighs 190 pounds, and made some changes to her strength and conditioning program.
“Looking at Vanessa in her fights, she pushed girls back because her legs are very strong,” Shields said while promoting the fight during a visit to Detroit Lions training camp on Thursday, when Hulk Hogan also was there for a visit. “We made sure I have the power in my legs to push her back, and not get pushed back, and also really worked on the strength in my arms.”
Shields won gold medals in the women’s middleweight division at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, making her the first boxer from the United States to win consecutive Olympic medals. She is the only American to win Olympic gold in boxing since 2004 and was named Sportswoman of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation last October.
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Shields was a big enough name to draw boxing to Little Caesars Arena for the first time last year and did it again, headlining a card with up-and-coming fighters with seats sold out on the floor and a lower level that was mostly full.
Thomas Hearns, the revered fighter known as “The Hitman,” watched from a front-row seat next to Jackie Kallen, who became the first female manager inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
Michel Rivera (26-1) of the Dominican Republic, ranked 30th at 140 pounds, won with a split decision against Hugo Alberto Roldan of Argentina.
Julian Smith improved to 9-2 with a split-decision victory over 34th-ranked super lightweight Shohjahon Ergashev (24-1) of Uzbekistan.
Smith, a deaf boxer from the Chicago area, hopes his performance shows hearing loss isn’t an obstacle in the ring.
“It inspires me to show the world that people can do it, given the right access,” he said through an American Sign Language interpreter.
