On March 5, Claressa Shields made history becoming the first boxer EVER – man or woman – to win an undisputed championship in two weight classes. She is now the “unified WBC, WBO, IBF & WBA Super Junior Middleweight World Champion,” according to a report by Shoppe Black.
Shields, who hails from Flint, Michigan, said it was great to win in such a big way, even though the pandemic made the live crowd a great deal smaller.
“With Covid, we couldn’t have a full capacity. There are 300 here and that’s the capacity of the day, so we have a full house. We couldn’t have full capacity, but I know if we could have, we would have had 6000 people in here. I’m happy to have been able to do it here (in Flint).”
She said the win was something she never dreamed of. She just wanted to win at the Olympics.
“I started boxing here at Berston Fieldhouse at 11 years old. Never in a million years did I think I’d be on pay-per-view and fighting for an undisputed title and be one of the biggest stars in boxing. I just wanted to win an Olympic Gold medal. God has given me two Olympic medals. I have 12 championship belts now. It doesn’t feel real to say undisputed twice.”
Shield’s danced in the ring to Cardi B’s “Up,” wearing a robe with Chadwick Boseman’s name on it and trunks honoring Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.
Later, in a presser caught by ESPN, Shields said, “It meant everything… like never in a million years growing up here in Flint where I was poor; we didn’t have lights sometimes; we didn’t have water; we didn’t have food. To see that young Black girl could turn out to be who I am. Sometimes it’s mind-boggling to me.”
