Weekend Review: Claressa Shields should be satisfied with dominating victories
A critical look at the past week in boxing
BIGGEST WINNER
Claressa Shields
Shields might be wise to stop worrying about knockouts. It’s more difficult for women to deliver stoppages because of two-minute rounds, particularly against capable opponents like Maricela Cornejo. And let’s face it: Shields isn’t a big puncher. Otherwise she’d have more than two KOs in 14 fights. She’s arguably what her nickname (GWOAT) suggests, the best female boxer of all time without many stoppages. Shouldn’t that be sufficient? Shields (14-0, 2 KOs) obviously doesn’t think so. The undisputed 160-pound champion said going into her defense against Cornejo on Saturday that she has been working on her punching power, with more knockouts in mind. And she clearly tried to end the Cornejo fight early, loading up and throwing massive punches – some of them wild – intended to incapacitate Cornejo. The problem for Shields is that the challenger was durable and clever enough to absorb the punishment and survive to hear the final bell. As a result, Shields failed in a sense. She won a shutout decision but didn’t realize her stated goal of getting KO No. 3, which left her somewhat frustrated. I believe dominating, unanimous-decision victories are enough. Shields should fight like she did late in the Cornejo fight, not in the sloppy manner of the early rounds. Jab, throw combinations, unleash fierce flurries. If the knockouts come, fine. If they don’t, that’s fine too. Shields is great and a major attraction either way.
RABBIT PUNCHES
Shields doesn’t have a lot of great options in her immediate future. She mentioned the possibility of fighting the winner of the July 1 fight between 168-pound champ Franchon Crews Dezurn and Savannah Marshall in her next fight or taking part in a “Four Queens”-style rivalry with Crew Dezurn, Marshall and Shadasia Green. The problem with that plan is that she has already beaten both Crews Dezurn and Marshall convincingly. Green is the most intriguing potential opponent even though she’s relatively unproven. The New Jersey fighter is 12-0 with 11 knockouts, albeit against second-tier opposition. The fact is the 160- and 168-pound talent pool isn’t deep. … It was nice to see big-time boxing return to Detroit, which produced Joe Louis and many other great fighters. I just hope Michigan’s Unarmed Combat Commission learned some lessons from the card on Saturday. In particular, the ending of the Ardreal Holmes–Wendy Toussaint fight was chaotic. Toussaint suffered a deep cut on his forehead as a result of a clash of heads in the eighth round. The ring doctor allowed the fight to go on but referee Gerald White decided to stop it moments after it continued. White should be applauded for taking decisive action but he should never have engaged the doctor after making his decision. The referee has the discretion to make any move he deems appropriate. I’m guessing Michigan officials will review the card and be better the next time around. … The Holmes-Toussaint result – split decision for Holmes – was immediately disputed because Toussaint seemed to control the second half of the fight and had all the momentum when it was stopped. Holmes should give Toussaint a rematch.
