(AUG 6) In a dominating and
emphatic performance, hometown favorite Claressa Shields
captured the WBC and IBF Super Middleweight World Championships
in just her fourth professional fight Friday night on ShoBox:
The New Generation live on SHOWTIME at MGM Grand Detroit.
The 22-year-old Shields (4-0, 2
KOs) of Flint, Mich. annihilated the previously undefeated Nikki
Adler (16-1, 9 KOs) of Germany dominating the fight from start
to finish as referee Michael Griffin waved the fight off at 1:34
of Round 5.
“I’m happy and blessed. I got the
TKO. I knocked out the world champion who was 16-0,” Shields
told SHOWTIME Sports analyst Steve Farhood in the ring after the
fight in front of a delirious and loud Detroit crowd. “I had
trained for a hard fight and was prepared to go all 10. It was
not going to be a war.”
Moments after the historic
victory, Farhood said on the telecast: “I don’t remember a
fighter winning a world title with a more dominating
performance, male or female. Adler was outclassed.”
After accepting her new belts
from Adler, Shields met face to face with a possible future
opponent in five-time world champion Christina Hammer, who is
undefeated at 21-0 and currently holds the WBC and WBO
Middleweight titles.
“It was a good fight, but you are not as good as me,” said
Hammer, who joined Shields in the ring after the stoppage. “I’ll
beat you and Adler, both. Anytime. Anywhere.”
Farhood asked Shields what she showed Hammer. “I think I showed
Christina she better keep her hands up,” Shields said. “She saw
that I’m fast and I’m stronger than I look. I know she’ll be
prepared if we fight next year.”
Adler, who didn’t land any punches in the first, second and
fifth rounds, landed just seven percent of her punches (6 of 84)
on the night compared to 40 percent for Shields (136 of 340).
“Now that I have faced Claressa Shields, I can tell you
Christina Hammer cannot beat her,” Adler said. “She will lose.”
Shields called Friday’s win the best performance of her young
career. “I was never nervous and I knew from the start I was not
going to go home without those belts,” she said. “I did it!”
Shields said she felt happier winning the world title than she
did winning her two Olympics gold medals. “I’m on T.V. and I’m
making some money and doing it in front of my fans in Detroit,”
she said. “And I was the underdog. At least I always feel like
I’m the underdog before any of my fights.”
Shields became the 70th boxer who has appeared on ShoBox to go
on to win a world title, joining such illustrious names as
Deontay Wilder, Errol Spence Jr., Timothy Bradley, Paulie
Malignaggi and Andre Ward.
Adler became the 168th fighter to lose her undefeated record on
the ShoBox series.
“I felt tired and weak in the ring,” Adler said. “Claressa was
definitely the better fighter tonight. I will be back. Of
course, I’m very disappointed about losing a fight, but it’s
part of boxing. I was never hurt during the fight, but I had no
strength and felt fatigued. I don’t know why. I couldn't do the
things I wanted to.”
In the ShoBox co-feature, Jesse Hernandez (9-1, 7 KOs) of Fort
Worth, Texas, overpowered the previously undefeated world-ranked
Vladimir Tikhonov (15-1, 9 KOs) of Russia with a fifth-round TKO
victory (2:25). Tikhonov became the 167th fighter to lose his
undefeated record on the ShoBox series in the eight-round super
bantamweight bout.
The 26-year-old Hernandez, the youngest of 15 children,
connected on 45 percent of his power punches (121 to 271)
against Tikhonov’s 35 percent (85 to 245).
“I could feel my body shots were affecting him,” Hernandez said.
“He had no power. Never hurt me. I knew he was never going to be
able to withstand my power. He was wearing down. I heard him
grunting whenever I threw a body shot.”
The 27-year-old southpaw Tikhonov, who spent the past four weeks
training at the famed Kronk Gym in Detroit, opened the
competitive fight on the outside, with Hernandez more of the
aggressor during the first two rounds.
Hernandez landed a big right hand that staggered Tikhonov
halfway through the ropes as round three ended. Hernandez
dominated the fourth round with some excellent body work,
landing shots to Tikhonov’s stomach.
Hernandez began bleeding on the side of his head in the fifth
round. But that did not seem to faze him as he continued to
batter Tikhonov with body shots and connecting with jabs from
both sides with the fight waved off by referee Ansel Stewart at
2:25 of the fifth round.
“His strength was the key,” Tikhonov said. “It was a physical
fight and he was the stronger more pressured fighter.”
Added Hernadez: “This is what I worked for, for most my life.
This is a dream come true. I knew my style was made for TV. I’m
so happy to have had this opportunity and to have made the most
of it. I hope to be back on the series.”
Friday’s doubleheader will replay on Monday, Aug. 7 at 10 p.m.
ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME and will be available on SHOWTIME on
DEMAND® and SHOWTIME ANYTIME®.
Barry Tompkins called the ShoBox action from ringside with
Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert
analysts. The executive producer was Gordon Hall with Rich
Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.