Claressa Shields July 27 Detroit Fight Has a Lot at Stake

By Cody Yarbrough, Contributing Writer The T-rex of Flint is returning to Michigan to terrorize the masses once more. The three-time undisputed middleweight world champion Claressa “GWOAT” Shields will be looking to make history later this month at her fight in the Little Ceaser’s Arena against the current WBC women’s heavyweight world champion, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse. Hosted by the fight streaming platform DAZN, the two fighters will compete not only for the WBC women’s heavyweight belt but also for the vacant WBO light heavyweight belt. A victory for Sheilds would mean that she would be the first four-division title champion ever in women’s boxing. Fighting for such high stakes in a new weight class might intimidate a lesser boxer, but for Shields, it’ll be a chance to showcase to the world her true power. & In order to fight in the heavyweight division, Shields will be jumping up to 175 pounds, two weight classes up from her normal fighting size. However, this weight is actually very similar to her natural size, meaning that she’ll be fighting with much more energy than if she had to cut 20 pounds. She’ll also be punching with power much closer to her God-given strength. Dehydrating...