Written by Jack Walsh
CLARESSA Shields outlasted Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse last night in just two short rounds, winning the vacant WBO light-heavyweight title, and dethroning Lepage-Joanisse of the WBC heavyweight belt.
The two headlined a 10-fight card at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Shields, 29, showed his unpredictably formidable power at heavyweight, appearing unfazed by the big jump in divisions, despite the ring discomfort of putting in his biggest weight yet: 174.8lbs/79.23kg.
In the first round, Lepage-Joanisse tried to work on the inside and apply pressure, although he was struck by a bad fever that confined him to the corner until the bell rang.
Shields showed some patience in those opening two minutes, and it's possible that the first left hook he landed might have surprised Lepage-Joanisse enough to set up a knockout in the near future.
The second and final round was where American Shields showed complete dominance, living up to her GWOAT (Greatest Woman of All Time) nickname. Avoiding Lepage-Joanisse's punches with ease, Shields ducked and rolled each attempt, landing a sharp left hook at the end of a smooth combo that sent her Canadian opponent to the canvas.
While Lepage-Joanisse scored, he was also put down on the right end of another brutal combination. In the end, Shields' power proved too much.
A big right hook was Lepage-Joanisse's last few, as he came down hard, and the referee pulled him out of the fight after his third round against a ten count.
With the overall victory on the floor, Shields has now become a champion in five different weight divisions with his new light-heavyweight and heavyweight gold.
He is one of four boxers in the history of the sport – in addition to Naoya Inoue, Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk – to hold all four major world titles in two weight divisions.
He is the current undisputed middleweight champion, former junior middleweight champion and former super-middleweight champion.
It is still possible for Shields to appear uncontested again in his third division, but he has only 10 days to decide whether he will continue as a heavyweight or go down to defend his middleweight title. Shields improved to 15-0 (3 KOs), while Lepage-Joanisse dropped to 7-2 (2 KOs).
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