Claressa Shields made a powerful statement in her return to middleweight on Sunday, stopping Kaye Scott in the sixth round to reclaim the WBA and WBC titles in Atlanta.
Fighting at middleweight for the first time since 2023, the five division world champion dropped three weight classes to face the 42 year old Australian. Shields was dominant from the opening bell, shifting through the gears to secure her fourth career stoppage and improve her professional record to 19 wins and no losses.
With the victory secured, Shields quickly turned her attention to Wales’ Lauren Price, who currently holds the welterweight championship. The American made it clear she wants that fight next, possibly in December or January.
“It was a hard camp,” said Shields, a two time Olympic champion. “I always tell myself that everything is easy work, but it was a really hard camp. I cut 38 pounds. I started 14 weeks ago at 198 and then I got down to 160. It was the most disciplined I’ve been since the Olympics.”
Scott, competing in just her eighth professional bout, struggled with Shields’ hand speed and accuracy. A flurry of body shots in the fifth round weakened her, and in the next round Shields connected with a vicious left hook that sent Scott to the ropes. Sensing the end, Shields unleashed a barrage of punches, and with Scott unable to defend herself, her corner threw towels into the ring to stop the fight.
Shields admitted she had to be careful early on. “I was actually just trying to figure her out,” she said. “She was stronger than I thought. She was very strong, and I knew that with me cutting the weight that I cut, that I didn’t want to exert too much early.”
If a fight with Price cannot be arranged, Shields, who also holds all four heavyweight titles, hopes to face compatriot Mikaela Mayer or Canada’s Tamm Thiebault, the current IBF, WBO and Ring middleweight champion.
“She’s only had five fights as a professional, but she’s got belts,” Shields said of Thiebault. “It’s not my fault these girls don’t have the experience that I have. She’s got a belt that I know belongs to me, and that’s the Ring belt.”
Shields’ dominant return to middleweight keeps her on a collision course with the division’s top names, and she has made it clear she wants the biggest fights available next.
