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Andreas Hale
Claressa Shields will put her undisputed heavyweight title on the line against a familiar opponent when she faces Franchon Crews-Dezurn in her backyard at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Feb. 22. The fight will be streamed live on DAZN.
Shields (17-0, 3 KOs), ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound women’s boxer, defeated Crews-Dezurn in her professional debut in 2016. Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KOs) was also making her pro debut. They’ll meet again nearly a decade later with more significant stakes on the line as Shields, 30, will be making her second defense of the undisputed heavyweight championship.
“In 2016 I had just come off winning two Olympic gold medals, fresh out of the amateurs, and finding an opponent was tough, Franchón stepped in,” Shields said in a statement. “I’ve grown a lot since that first victory, going on to win nineteen world titles, the ESPY award, and countless other achievements, but me and Franchón have unfinished business that needs to be settled. She’s been poppin’ it like she can whoop me in a world championship fight. We went four rounds in our pro debut, and this fight will pick up from round five.”
After losing to Shields, Crews-Dezurn went unbeaten over her next nine fights, becoming the undisputed super middleweight champion in the process. She dropped the undisputed title when she faced Shields’ rival Savannah Marshall and lost a majority decision in 2023. The Virginia native won her next two fights, beating Shadasia Green in 2023 for the WBA interim and WBC super middleweight titles and making a successful title defense against Citlalli Ortiz in 2025.
Crews-Dezurn, 38, is looking to be the first fighter to put a blemish on the record of the self-proclaimed “GWOAT.”
“I’ve been waiting and working a long time for this moment, and we finally meet again, ” Crews-Dezurn said in a statement. “This time as established champions with great legacies. I’m daring to be even greater by going up in weight, strutting into hell so I can create my heaven. I’m a worldwide woman that’s good in any hood and can’t wait to give Detroit, along with the world, a great fight.”
This will be Shields’ first fight since signing an $8 million, multifight deal with Salita Promotions and Wynn Records.