Claressa Shields was successful in her attempt to become the unified world heavyweight champion, defeating Danielle Perkins in a dominant fashion.
The win was Shields’ 16th of her career, as she maintained her undefeated record in the heavyweight bout. ‘T-Rex’ now holds world titles in the heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight divisions.
Perkins came into the bout with a professional record of 5-0, however, her undefeated record was spoiled by the now-unified heavyweight champion.
The Shields undercard had an unlikely moment, as well as the main event. Despite the impressive performance, the headline fight included a bizzare incident that widely caught the attention of fight fans.
Referee pushes dazed heavyweight to canvas in fight
In the third round of the fight between Shields and Perkins, an unlikely incident occurred.
As the two boxers were against the ropes as Shields had dazed her opponent, the referee intervened to seperate the pair. However, it resulted in Perkins hitting the canvas.
When the referee seperated the two, he gave each fighter a gentle push in the opposition direction of one another. However, as he nudged Perkins away, she was hit the floor and laid flat on her back.
Perkins seemingly lost her balance and tripped over her own foot on the break, which is what resulted in her hitting the canvas. She was then helped up the referee, and the fall was not considered a knockdown.
Fans were quick to comment on the bizzare circumstances with users writing “So emabarrasing,” and “Is this WWE?”
Despite seemingly being hurt in the fight, Perkins was able to survive to the final bell, with Shields being the victor on rather one-sided judges scorecards.
Claressa Shields could face former boxing opponent in MMA cage
Although Shields has called out Jake Paul for a boxing match, ‘T-Rex’ could be set for a rematch against former foe Savannah Marshall, who ‘T-Rex’ bested in 2022.
However, according to PFL chairman Donn Davis, the rematch could take place in MMA as opposed to boxing.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Davis said, “I think it would be interesting to see Claressa Shields and Savannah Marsahll in MMA.
Shields currently has a professional MMA record of 2-1, with all of her fights happening under the PFL banner. Meanwhile, Marshall has one in the cage as she earned a first round knockout at PFL Europe 2.