They fought for the first time in 2016 on the Andre Ward vs Sergey Kovalev undercard. Four rounds. Shields won a unanimous decision. At the time, women’s boxing was still fighting for Olympic inclusion and television coverage. Now there were nine belts on the table at Thursday’s press conference.
Shields, 17-0, talked about the early plan.
“She was my motivation back then,” Shields said. “I knew then that she hit demanding. That’s what I noticed when I was 13. I said, this lady hits demanding, OK.”
She described studying Crews-Dezurn as a teenager.
“When I was running, I was thinking about her. When I was sparring in the ring, I was thinking about her. When I was hitting the ball, I was thinking about her. And it was like that for a very long time.”
Crews-Dezurn, 10-2, thinks the rematch is overdue.
“It takes a long time to create this material,” she said. “I always told Claressa that our journeys would be connected.”
Technically, Shields fights with a pointed jab and quick legs. He establishes range early and then allows for combinations. In the heavyweight division, punch selection and conditioning determine the pace in the tardy moments. The extra weight tests strength.
Crews-Dezurn is physical inside. It leans on opponents, digs into the body, and in close quarters, it keeps its head on its chest. Moving up from super middleweight requires her to continue that style for ten rounds against a naturally bigger champion.
Shields is the undisputed heavyweight champion. Crews-Dezurn holds the unified belts at 168. There is no super middleweight title change on Sunday. However, this locks up the heavyweight division. Mandatory challengers wait until the defense is completed. Penalty charges already apply. Winning provides leverage for subsequent negotiations.
Detroit became the Shields’ base. This is her fifth straight fight in Michigan and fourth in LCA. She tied for 15,600 points against Lani Daniels last July. The building expects similar numbers on Sunday night.
Respect was evident at the press conference. It ends with a bell.
Date: Sunday
Start time: 7pm ET US, 12pm UK
Streaming platform: DAZN
Location: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit
Fight card: Claressa Shields 17-0 vs. Franchon Crews-Dezurn 10-2, undisputed heavyweight championship; 11 fights in total, first fight at 4:30 PM ET
Tomek Galm is a boxing journalist covering the global fight landscape since 2014, specializing in heavyweight analysis, industry trends and fighter psychology.