DETROIT — As Claressa Shields stood behind a clear podium to discuss her upcoming undisputed heavyweight title defense Sunday at Little Caesars Arena, she exchanged surprisingly little trash talk with her opponent.
Instead, Shields, dressed in a stylish pink fur coat, had high praise for Franchon Crews-Dezurn, who was seated at a nearby table to Shields’ left.
“Because this fight is at heavyweight, it adds more publicity to her name, my name and the event,” Shields, the No. 1 women’s boxer ranked by ESPN in pound-for-pound, said during Thursday’s news conference. “We will be made in history together throughout our careers, from amateurs to our professional debuts to our upcoming heavyweight fight.”
Shields (17-0, 3 KO) and Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KO) rose to the top together as longtime amateur rivals before facing off in their professional debuts in 2016, with Shields earning a four-round decision victory.
Sunday’s fight will be Shields’ second defense of the undisputed heavyweight crown, which she won in February 2025 via unanimous decision over Danielle Perkins. This will also be the first of Shields’ multi-fight partnerships with Salita Promotions and Wynn Records, which she signed in November after exploring the concept of free agency. The $8 million deal is the biggest deal for a female boxer.
After losing to Shields in 2016, Crews-Dezurn won nine straight fights to become the undisputed super middleweight champion. After dropping her crown in 2023, the Virginia native won her next two fights, defeating Shadasia Green in 2023 for the WBA interim and WBC super middleweight titles and successfully defending her title against Citlalli Ortiz in 2025.
Shields and Crews-Dezurn promised to give fans an action-packed match.
“It takes a long time to create this material,” Crews-Dezurn said. “I always told Claressa that our journeys would be connected and that’s handsome because when we met, women’s boxing wasn’t even part of the Olympics, so we had the opportunity to perform like this and see both of our faces in handsome graphics in the arena and online. It means everything to me.”
“I’m not a selfish person. I’m very selfless, so this is definitely my dream. Everything I do, I do for my dream. On February 22, when I win, it’s definitely something I decided to do.”
Shields, a native of Flint, Michigan, said Crews-Dezurn was the first woman she was introduced to as a teenager while preparing for her first Olympics in 2012, when, at age 17, she became the first American to win a gold medal in women’s boxing. She also made history in 2016 when, at the age of 21, she won her second gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio.
After many years of using Crews-Dezurn as a driving force, Shields is preparing to continue his undefeated streak.
“She was my motivation back then,” Shields said. “I found a video on YouTube. I watched her. From then on, I knew she hit difficult. I noticed it when I was 13. I said, ‘This lady hits difficult.'”