*Claressa Shields didn’t just return to middleweight Saturday night — the undefeated five-division champion dropped 38 pounds, battered Kaye Scott into a sixth-round stoppage and walked out of Atlanta’s State Farm Arena holding the WBA and WBC middleweight titles.
Shields improved to 19-0 with four knockouts after Scott’s corner threw in the towels at 1:38 of Round 6, ending a fight the two-time Olympic gold medalist increasingly dominated as it progressed.
The victory returned Shields to championship status at 160 pounds while she remains undisputed heavyweight champion, completing a dramatic descent from the division where she had most recently competed. And apparently, losing all that weight didn’t take the GWOAT’s hands with it.
Shields Went From 198 Pounds to 160
The most remarkable number of the night may not have been six.
Shields revealed afterward that she began training camp 14 weeks earlier weighing 198 pounds and had to reach the middleweight limit of 160.
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“It was a hard camp,” Shields said, according to The Guardian. “I cut 38 pounds.”
Shields called it her most disciplined stretch since the Olympics and acknowledged that the enormous cut affected her strategy. She didn’t want to expend too much energy early without knowing how her body would respond at the lighter weight.
Scott, 42, proved physically stronger than Shields expected, but that didn’t translate into control.
Shields found her left hook early, attacked Scott’s body and steadily increased the punishment. A large swelling developed on the left side of Scott’s face as Shields’ speed and accuracy increasingly separated the fighters.
Three Left Hooks Changed Everything
By Rounds 4 and 5, Shields was pounding Scott’s midsection and finding openings from close range.
Then came the sixth.
Shields landed three clean left hooks, with each appearing to hurt Scott more than the previous shot. Scott eventually went down but managed to beat the count.
Shields immediately resumed the attack.
Scott’s corner had seen enough and threw multiple towels into the ring to stop the punishment.
The TKO was notable for another reason: Shields doesn’t routinely stop opponents. It was only the fourth knockout or stoppage victory of her professional career and her second in nine years.
The win also made Shields the WBA and WBC middleweight champion again after she previously ruled the division as undisputed champion.
‘Atlanta Loves Black Excellence’
Shields also made some history outside the ropes.
Her bout with Scott was the first women’s boxing headliner in State Farm Arena history, and reports placed the crowd at roughly 15,000-plus.
Shields hadn’t fought outside Michigan since 2022, but Atlanta apparently answered any questions about whether her drawing power traveled.
“Atlanta loves Black excellence just like Detroit,” Shields said. “I came out here and showed why I am pound-for-pound No. 1.”
Now she wants another Olympic champion.
Shields identified Britain’s unified welterweight champion Lauren Price as her preferred next opponent and suggested a potential December or January showdown.
Canada’s Tammara Thibeault is another intriguing possibility. Thibeault holds the IBF, WBO, and Ring middleweight championships, making her an obvious route for Shields if the GWOAT wants to become undisputed at 160 pounds yet again. Mikaela Mayer is also on Shields’ radar.
Meanwhile, Papoose Made It Permanent
And because apparently a Claressa Shields fight week can no longer remain entirely about boxing, there was another development outside the ring.
Remy Ma had already stirred their ongoing feud by using a Shields video clip while promoting her new song “Wanna Go.”
Then Papoose made his own statement.
The rapper posted video showing himself getting Claressa’s name tattooed on his arm, according to Baller Alert.
As of publication, there was no verified post-fight response from Remy to Shields’ victory.
That’s probably fine with Shields.
After weeks of social-media drama, relationship headlines and questions about what dropping from 198 pounds would do to her body, she supplied the one response nobody can argue with.
She stepped into the ring.
She stopped Kaye Scott.
And she left Atlanta a middleweight champion again.
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MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Remy Ma Drops ‘Wanna Go,’ Reigniting Claressa Shields Feud Ahead of Tonight’s Fight
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