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Shields Becomes Unified Champion Of The World
By Daniel Cloutier
MONTRÉAL - The American female Claressa Shields promised
to not disappoint her fans in Flint, Michigan, and she
kept her promise. Shields became the unified super
welterweight (154 pounds) champion of the word, Friday
evening at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, beating
the Montrealer Marie-Eve Dicaire by unanimous decision
in 10 rounds.
Shields who was WBO and WBC champion of the world before
the fight, is now IBF, WBC and WBO champion of the
world. Shields, who still undefeated (11-0-0), became
the first fighter to beat Dicaire (17-1-0).
The three judges scored the bout for Shields, with
identical scores: 100-91.
Shields connected a couple of solid punches in the first
round, but the round was pretty close.
In the second round, Shields was fast and dominated the
action.
The third round was close, each fighter had her good
moments.
In the fourth and fifth rounds, the action was intense,
each fighter attacked furiously.
In the sixth and seventh rounds, Shields gave a hard
time to her opponent.
The eight and nine rounds were intense, but Shields
connected the best power shots.
In the 10th and last round, Dicaire was aggressive, but
Shields dominated the action in most of the closing
round.
“I mentioned Thursday that I got the weapons necessary
to win this fight, and I was right,” said Shields after
the bout. “I was more intense and more aggressive than
my rival. I am now unified champion of the world. It’s
great. I am proud to be IBF, WBC and WBO champion of the
world. I am sure that my fans here in Flint, are proud
of my performance.”
Before the main event, the female heavyweight Danielle
Perkins, from Houston, Texas, improved her record
(12-1-0), beating Monika Harrison (2-2-0), from
Waycross, Georgia, by unanimous decision in eight
rounds. It was a WBC Silver championship.
Perkins provoked a knockdown in the fourth round and she
put her rival in trouble in the following round. Perkins
maintained her intense attacks in the sixth and sevenths
rounds. The three judges got the same score: 80-73 for
Perkins, who really want to become the queen of the
female heavyweight division.
In the opening bout of the evening, the female
bantamweight (121 pounds) Marlen Esparza (9-1-0), from
Houston, Texas, beat the Canadian Shelly Barnett
(4-4-2), from Toronto, by unanimous decision in six
rounds. Clearly better than her opponent technically,
Esparza dominated the action from the beginning to the
end of the bout. The three judges scored the bout 60-64,
60-53 and 60-53.
In another female bantamweight bout, Jamie Mitchell,
from Pacific Grove, California, remained undefeated
(6-0-2), beating Noemi Bosques (12-16-3), from
Saint-Petersburg, Florida, by TKO in the fifth round.
Mitchell attacked energetically in each round, and in
the fifth round, Bosques looked clearly in trouble.
Then, the referee intervened to stop the bout.
In the only male fight of the evening, the Russian
middleweight (160 pounds) Timur Kerenov (11-0-0)( won by
TKO against Many Woods (16-11-1), from Saint-Petersburg,
Florida.
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