Claressa Shields said she was coming to Atlanta to make history. She did exactly that—and needed just six rounds to get it done.
According to ESPN, Shields stopped Kaye Scott in the sixth round Saturday night at State Farm Arena, reclaiming the WBC and WBA middleweight championships and securing the 20th and 21st world titles of her career. The victory improved Claressa Shields’ professional record to 19-0 with four knockouts while extending her championship résumé into yet another chapter.
Getting there required a dramatic change before Shields even entered the ring. The undisputed heavyweight champion dropped three weight classes for the bout, returning to middleweight for the first time since 2023. She revealed afterward that she had come down from 198 pounds to make the 160-pound limit.
“This was a really hard camp,” Shields said after the fight. “I cut 38 pounds. I was at 198 pounds and got down to 160. This is the most disciplined I’ve been since the Olympics, I feel like.”
Scott, who entered the fight as champion, didn’t make the assignment easy. She stood and traded with Shields early, but Shields gradually took control with the cleaner, heavier shots. By the second round, Scott had developed a large welt on her forehead.
The finish arrived in Round 6. Shields connected with a hard left hook that sent Scott stumbling into the ropes and forced a count. Shields immediately pressed forward against her visibly hurt opponent until Scott’s corner threw in the towel. The fight was officially stopped at 1:38 of the round.
“I was actually just trying to figure her out,” Shields said. “She was stronger than what I thought.”
Now she has the belts, too.
Shields remains the undisputed heavyweight champion and has previously been undisputed at middleweight and junior middleweight, making her the only woman to become undisputed across three weight divisions.