Detroit ― The time for talking ― and there’s been a whole lot of that ― is over.
It’s time for Claressa Shields and Franchon Crews-Dezurn to fight.
Shields (174 pounds), the Flint boxing legend, and Crews-Dezurn (174.2 pounds) were officially weighed in Saturday at Little Caesars Arena, ahead of their high-profile bout Sunday night in downtown Detroit.
The fight between Shields, 30, and Crews-Dezurn, 38, is a rematch from their first professional fight, in 2016. It’s highly anticipated, and will play out in front of a crowd of more than 15,000 at LCA, as the headliner of an 11-bout card that includes five other female fights and three other championship bouts.
“We know what happened in that first matchup,” said Shields, who beat Crews-Dezurn by unanimous decision in 2016, and hasn’t lost as a professional. “We are etched in history and will forever be.
“The stage is much bigger this time around.”
Said Crews-Dezurn, earlier this week: “I am a future Hall-of-Famer. I am going to show the world (Sunday).”
This will be Shields’ fifth consecutive fight in Michigan, and her fourth at Little Caesars Arena.
It’s also the first fight for Shields since he signed a historic, multi-fight contract with Wynn Records and Salita Promotions, the promoters for Sunday’s fight and card. The contract is worth at least $8 million, the biggest deal ever for a female boxer.
No surprise, that deal went to Shields, the GWOAT, a newly inducted Michigan Sports Hall-of-Famer who has become one of the faces of boxing, and certainly the face of boxing’s renaissance in Detroit ― which has recently seen boxing return to the Fox Theatre and the reopening of the Kronk Gym.
“Detroit boxing is back,” said Dmitriy Salita, president of Salita Promotions, “and it’s here to stay.”
Fight Night at LCA
Doors open at 4 p.m.; fights start at 4:30 p.m.; streaming at DAZN starts at 8 p.m.
MAIN EVENT ― UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, 10 ROUNDS
➤ Claressa Shields (17-0, 3 KOs), 174 pounds, vs. Franchon Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KOs), 174.2 pounds
CO-FEATURED BOUT ― WBC US AND WBA CONTINENTAL LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP, 10 ROUNDS
➤ Atif Oberlton (14-0, 12 KOs), 174.8 pounds, vs. Joe George Jr. (13-1, 8 KOs), 173.4 pounds
WBA LIGHTWEIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, 10 ROUNDS
➤ Che Kenneally (5-0, 2 KOs), 171 pounds, vs. Danielle Perkins (5-1, 2 KOs), 174.4 pounds
WBA INTERIM SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, 10 ROUNDS
➤ Samantha Worthington (12-0, 7 KOs), 139 pounds, vs. Edith Matthysse (20-16-1, 3 KOs), 138.2 pounds
HEAVYWEIGHT, EIGHT ROUNDS
➤ Pryce Taylor (10-0, 6 KOs), 275.2 pounds, vs. James Evans (9-2-1, 7 KOs), 223.8 pounds
HEAVYWEIGHT, FOUR ROUNDS
➤ Sardius Simmons (5-0, 3 KOs), 216.6 pounds, vs. Dylan Potter (2-2-1, 0 KOs), 229.6 pounds
SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT, FOUR ROUNDS
➤ Lance Smith (5-0, 4 KOs), 141.6 pounds, vs. Jorge Vizcarrondo (2-1-2, 2 KOs), 141 pounds
FLYWEIGHT, SIX ROUNDS
➤ Jasmine Hampton (1-0, 1 KO), 110 pounds, vs. Agustina Vazquez (6-6-2, 1 KO), 109 pounds
SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT, EIGHT ROUNDS
➤ Savannah Tini (6-0, 2 KOs), 139.2 pounds, vs. Vaida Masiokaite (11-29-6, 1 KO), 138.6 pounds
MIDDLEWEIGHT, FOUR ROUNDS
➤ Jaquan McElroy (4-0, 2 KOs), 154 pounds, vs. Andre Johnson Jr. (2-4-1, 2 KOs), 156 pounds
FEATHERWEIGHT, EIGHT ROUNDS
➤ Shannel Butler (6-0, 3 KOs), 125.8 pounds, vs. Danila Ramos (14-4, 1 KO), 124.8 pounds
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Claressa Shields officially weighed in; here’s the full lineup for Fight Night at LCA
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
