By: Daniel Cloutier
Photos: Silvia Jones, ILE Photography
MONTRÉAL - The Montrealer female Marie-Eve Dicaire
is ready for the biggest challenge of her pro boxing
career. Friday evening at the Flint Dort Financial
Center in Michigan, Dicaire (17-0-0), the IBF super
welterweight (154 pounds) champion of the world, will
face the American Claressa Shields (10-0-0), the WBO and
WBC champion of the world. It will be a unification
world championship fight.
“I am ready to face the biggest challenge of my pro
boxing career,” said Dicaire. “I got a great
preparation, mentally, physically and technically, and I
will fight intensively from the beginning to the end in
the fight. And I have a great strategy for this event.
It’s the most important moment in my pro boxing career
so I got to deliver the best performance of my career
and I am planning to do it. I know that Shields is an
exceptionally good opponent, but I know what to achieve
to be in the winning corner. I am so impatient for live
this event. It will be a crucial moment in my boxing
career.”
Dicaire’s promoter, Yvon Miichel, from the GYM Group in
Montréal, will be in the Marie-Eve’s corner Friday
evening, with the Dicaire’s trainer Stéphane Arnois.
“Yvon was a great trainer in the 1980, and I am very
happy to know that he will be in my corner with Stéphane
Arnois Friday evening,” said Dicaire. “I am positive
that both will give me good advice between the rounds.
It will be crucial to get a good strategy in this very
important challenge.”
Yvon Michel said: “I will be very happy to be in the
Marie-Eve’s corner Friday evening, It’s a very important
event, It’s an IBF, WBO and WBC unification world titles
bout. Marie-Eve knows that it’s the greatest moment of
her pro boxing career,. I know she will give everything
possible to win this crucial bout.”
Shields will fight in home. She lives in Flint. “Dicaire
has more experience than me in pro boxing, but I am
persuaded that I have the weapons necessary to win this
fight,” said Shields. “I really believe I will stay WBO
and WBC champion of the world, and I will add the IBF
title on my collection. I will fight in my city and I
don’t want to disappoint my boxing fans. I am very
impatient to be in the ring. No doubt in my mind, it’s a
great moment in my pro boxing career.”
At the weigh in, Dicaire and Shields respected the limit
of the weights of the super welterweight division.
Dicaire posted a weight of 152.6 pounds, and Shields
153.6 pounds.
Mark Taffet, Shields manager, said: “Claressa got a
great training camp and she is ready for this crucial
challenge. She is perfectly prepared mentally and
physically. She knows like me that it’s a crucial moment
in her pro boxing career. I am positive that she will
give everything to be the winner.”
Just before the main event, a female heavyweight will
oppose Danielle Perkins (2-0-0), from Houston, Texas, to
Monika Harrison (2-1-0), from Waycross, Georgia. At the
weigh in, Perkins posted a weight of 196.8 pounds,
versus 202.8 for Harrison.
Two others female bouts, both in the bantamweight (122
pounds) division, will be presented before the fight
Perkins-Harrison. Jamie Mitchell (5-0-2), from Pacific
Grove, California, will face Noemi Bosques (12-15-3),
from Saint-Petersburg, Florida, and Marlen Esparza
(8-1-0), from Houston, Texas, will fight Shelly Barnett
(4-3-2), from Toronto, Canada.
At the weigh in, Mitchell posted a weight of 120 pounds,
versus 119.6 for Bosques, and Esparza posted a weight of
117.4 pounds, versus 119 for Barnett.
In the middleweight (160 pounds division,) the Russian
Timur Kerefov (10-0-0) will challenge Manny Woods
(16-10-1), from Saint-Petersburg, Florida. It will be
first men’s fight in this boxing show.
The fight Perkins-Harrison is scheduled for 8 rounds,
Tekerov-Woods for 10 rounds, and the other preliminaries
fights are fixed for six rounds.
A female middleweight bout between Logan Holler (9-0-1),
from Columbia, South Carolina, and Schemelle Baldwin
(3-1-2), from Newark, Delaware, was scheduled for this
event, but these two fighters did not show up for the
weigh in.
We will know soon if this fight is cancelled or still on
that show.
FIGHT NIGHT PRE-SHOW SPECIAL & FREE FIGHT (KEREFOV
VS. WOODS)
(8:00 PM EST | 7:00 PM CST | 5:00 PM PST)
Livestreamed on FITE, Vive Network and Salita
Promotions’ YouTube Channel
SUPERWOMEN: SHIELDS VS. DICAIRE BROADCAST BEGINS
(USD $29.95)
(9:00 PM EST | 8:00 PM CST | 6:00 PM PST)
InDemand Pay-Per-View (cable, satellite, and telco
providers including Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour,
DirecTV/U-Verse, Dish, Fios, and Optimum)
Livestream: VIVE Network, and FITE.TV
