{"id":335313,"date":"2025-12-09T20:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T20:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/335313\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T20:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T20:55:09","slug":"claressa-shields-to-open-8m-deal-with-detroit-rematch-against-crews-dezurn-claressa-shields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/335313\/","title":{"rendered":"Claressa Shields to open $8m deal with Detroit rematch against Crews-Dezurn | Claressa Shields"},"content":{"rendered":"

Claressa Shields will defend her undisputed heavyweight championship in Detroit on 22 February, returning home for a rematch with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in her first fight since signing a landmark $8m promotional deal. The bout will headline a Dazn card at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the NBA\u2019s Pistons and NHL\u2019s Red Wings where Shields attracted a near-sellout crowd for her most recent fight<\/a> last July.<\/p>\n

Shields (17-0, 3 KO) and Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KO) first met nearly a decade ago when they made their professional debuts against each other<\/a> on the undercard of Andre Ward\u2019s victory over Sergey Kovalev<\/a> in 2016. Shields won a four-round unanimous decision that night in Las Vegas, a moment she still sees as formative. \u201cI had just come off winning two Olympic gold medals, fresh out of the amateurs, and finding an opponent was tough,\u201d she said in a press release announcing the fight. \u201cFranchon stepped in. I\u2019ve grown a lot since that first victory, but me and Franchon have unfinished business that needs to be settled.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Michigan-born star and double Olympic champion returns to action for the first time since reuniting with Salita Promotions and adding Wynn Records as a co-promotional partner. She said fighting again in her home state carries its own pressure. \u201cSelling out Little Caesars Arena was a dream, and my fans made that come true,\u201d she said. \u201cFighting in Michigan motivates me, and it also puts pressure on me because I never want to fail them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crews-Dezurn, who went on to become an undisputed champion at super-middleweight in 2022 before losing it to Britain\u2019s Savannah Marshall, will move up to heavyweight for the rematch. She said the meeting comes at the right moment for both fighters. \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting and working a long time for this moment,\u201d she said. \u201cThis time as established champions with great legacies. I\u2019m daring to be even greater by going up in weight, strutting into hell so I can create my heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shields, who said she is fully healthy after what she described as injury-affected performances in recent outings, said she plans to close the rivalry decisively. \u201cI won a unanimous decision the first time, but come February 22, I don\u2019t have those same plans. I plan on putting Franchon Crews on her back and leaving with the KO. Franchon is elite, but I am super elite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Promoter Dmitriy Salita said the rematch represents both fighters\u2019 growth since their shared debut on the Ward v Kovalev card. \u201cNearly a decade ago, Claressa and Franchon stepped into the ring as two Olympians making their professional debuts,\u201d he said. \u201cSince then, both have risen to become world champions and global forces in women\u2019s boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Claressa Shields and Papoose attend the Ebony Power 100 Gala at the Beverly Hilton in November in Beverly Hills, California. Photograph: Kevin Winter\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Shields\u2019 return comes months after she chose to remain with the promoter who guided her from her debut onward, finalizing a minimum-guaranteed $8m multi-fight agreement<\/a> with Salita Promotions in partnership with Wynn Records. The deal followed a brief spell in which Shields explored free agency after her title defense against Lani Daniels in July.<\/p>\n

She ultimately opted to stay, saying the new arrangement offered the scale and visibility she has long pushed for in women\u2019s boxing and aligned with her broader ambitions outside the ring.<\/p>\n

The partnership with Wynn Records \u2013 a music-focused imprint that counts several artists on its roster and marks Shields as its first athlete \u2013 is designed to blend boxing with cultural and entertainment projects. Salita called Shields \u201cone of the defining athletes of her generation\u201d when the pact was announced and said the collaboration aims to create opportunities that traditional promotional models do not.<\/p>\n

Shields, who had fielded interest from multiple suitors and even pursued a high-profile, unsuccessful-to-date overture to lure Laila Ali out of retirement, said the new deal reflects her intent to continue reshaping the economics and expectations surrounding women\u2019s boxing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Claressa Shields will defend her undisputed heavyweight championship in Detroit on 22 February, returning home for a rematch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-335313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}