THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Claressa Shields smiled throughout her entrance walk to the ring this past Saturday night, exuding all the confidence that has carried her to this point of a first defence of her belts in the United Kingdom.
She was featured on the undercard of the top billed Chris Eubank Jnr fight against Liam Williams at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff but was very much a top-drawer attraction. It was a year to the day since her last bout, after diving into the world of MMA, and after a first win saw her early steps in that world stall after some rescheduling, and an eventual loss in late October last year, a points decision saw her lose to Abigail Montes. Boxing is where she is best known and most feared, and Cardiff were ready for a show. She was willing to put her belts on the line, the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles as well as the distinguished The Ring female middleweight title. Her opponent was the young talented Slovenian Ema Kozin, who brought her own WBF title in this unification match.
For many Kozin was a lamb to the slaughter, but in the dangerous world of boxing everyone knows that one, or a series of good punches could sway the bout in your favour, so Shields had to be on her best and not let any complacency in, she was here to prove a point, that she could back up her talk, and impress a wider audience, away and outside of her comfort zone. And this was her intention from the opening bell. Biding her time and trying to open her opponent up slowly Shields was always the aggressor but also knowing Kozin was a solid fighter and indeed was absorbing a lot of the early shots with relative ease. As the fight went into the middle rounds it was more evident that Shields was in control. This was her twelfth professional fight, still a young career, but the experience and confidence were clear. Shields was using her whole arsenal – hooks, counters, uppercuts – to rock Kozin who offered no real attack of her own as she was so concentrated on just staying upright. Which to her credit, she did.
It wasn't a knockout performance in terms of landing that vital blow, but it was every part a champion one. Measured and controlled, with no hesitation. Maybe, there were those that were expecting an explosive flurry of punches that would see a dramatic conclusion, but sometimes you just have to feel your way around a fight, and on this occasion Shields did just that, and it doesn't hurt going the distance either to prove you have stamina in the ring. The judges all scored an overwhelming win on points. The lack of a powerful finish was not lost on one person who was ringside, her most likely next opponent, and the only one that has put a notch in the GWOAT's loss column.
The British fighter has a mirrored career to that of Shields and is due her own twelfth pro fight on March 12, when she defends her WBO belt against Femke Hermans of Germany, someone that Shields has already beaten back in late 2018. Marshall was caught on the live television cameras fake yawning during Shield's' fight, suggesting she wasn't impressed at all with how it was playing out. If as expected Marshall wins this weekend, it would pave the way for what will likely be the most anticipated women's professional fight of all time, and the promoters and TV were ready to get the two ringside after the conclusion of the fight. Shields will never back down from any fight whether its in the ring or verbally outside of it. She knows she's at the top of her game and Marshall is the only one now that stops her from convincing any doubters.
Marshall herself is not backwards in coming forward and remarked that if Shields was to "perform like that I'm going to wipe the floor with you." This led to some quick comeback from Shields who felt she was being disrespectful. "Ashe's going to get it just like Kozin got it, even worse because I don't like her. I haven't been impressed with any of Marshall's fights. I think her getting a few easy opponents and a few knockouts have really fed her ego the wrong way. She doesn't know how to be a World champion." The verbal sparring went on for a few minutes and after some personal insults were traded it led to security staff having to break the pair up. It is hoped that if negotiations for their fight go well, we should see the two square up as early as June or July this year. If it's anything like the fireworks we saw after Shields magnificent performance in Cardiff, then we are in for a real treat that should be long remembered.
