Claressa Shields was simply in a class of her own. The American completely dominated Marie-Eve Dicaire from Saint-Eustache, Quebec and made history by becoming the unified super-welterweight champion at the Dort Federal Event Center in Flint, Michigan.
Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) completely dominated the clash, securing a perfect score of 100-90 from the three judges. Amply deserved scores.
"I dominated, but I wanted to knock her out," said the champion after her victory. "I just ran out of time."
With this victory, she retains her World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles; adds the International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt held by Dicaire (17-1); in addition to adding the vacant title of Super Champion of the World Boxing Association (WBA).
By becoming the unified champion in a second weight division, she made history by being the first, male or female, to achieve such a feat. Adding her two Olympic gold medals acquired in 2012 and 2016, it's hard to say that she is not the best boxer in history.
"I succeeded!" Shields launched in front of the 350 or so spectators admitted to the enclosure.
She also pointed out this week that after this victory, she wanted to be nicknamed G.W.O.A.T. (Greatest Woman of All Time), and not T-Rex.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
For Dicaire, the team put the defeat into perspective.
"It was not the expected result, but I have no regrets," said the St-Eustache boxer just minutes after leaving the ring. "Tonight Claressa Shields was the strongest, but that doesn't mean she always will be.
"Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Tonight I learned. This fight will serve as a springboard for me."
Dicaire's promoter - and exceptionally corner man Yvon Michel - is also convinced that his protege will bounce back.
"We are very proud of Marie-Eve," said Michel. "She showed a lot of courage and took all the blows from Shields, which some doubted. I am convinced that she will become world champion again. It's simple: in my opinion, there isn't a girl who can beat Shields."
"Marie-Eve lost her belt tonight, but for me, she is still the world champion," added trainer Stephane Harnois. "She lost to Shields, but this is not our last battle. I promise you that we will become world champion again. We come out of this grown up. The whole world saw Marie-Eve, but especially Shields, the swollen eye at the end of the fight."
The latter set traps throughout the evening for Dicaire, who was unable to firmly hit her opponent.
The 34-year-old Quebecer has, however, tasted her opponent's medicine.
From the first assault, Shields, 25, set the tone with a solid right over Dicaire's jab. Later in the round, she hit her with two solid left hooks.
Shields continued her demolition work in subsequent rounds. Her hand speed was mind-boggling. Certainly unheard of in Dicaire's career.
The American also demonstrated surgical precision, leaving no chance for Dicaire, who was never really able to settle into a strategy, let alone effectively approach Shields.
Even in the rounds where she seemed less active, the American won the rally handily.
Dicaire may have saved her best moments in the fifth, as she landed a few good shots. However, she still seemed to be bouncing on her feet and was not felt able to apply a blow that made her opponent think.
"We were aware that we would never win our case by taking Claressa head-on and by staying in front of her, the blows would rain," explained Dicaire. "The strategy was to always go out at an angle, something I sometimes forgot to do. To do this, I had to be always on the move, which is why I was hopping a lot."
From the sixth, Dicaire often found herself in a mess, and forced to hang on. She also elbowed, but the referee, Montrealer Michael Griffin, was on top of things and offered her admonitions on every occasion.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2021.
