Claressa Shields: how claressa shields became the main event
claressa shields has moved from years of obscurity to the center of a high-profile rematch and mainstream attention. The two-time Olympic gold medalist, unbeaten at 17-0-0 and the undisputed women's heavyweight champion, headlines a 10-round rematch with Franchón Crews-Dezurn on Sunday, Feb. 22 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Pre-fight routine in Papoose's New Jersey apartment and Madison Square Garden appearance
On a frigid January afternoon, Shields said "IT'S A BIT MUCH" while preparing for a ringside appearance at the Shakur Stevenson–Teofimo Lopez fight. She planned to attend the card with her boyfriend, Papoose, and had turned a room in his New Jersey apartment building into a personal salon, with bottles, jars and powders scattered on a table in front of her.
Shields scrolled through her phone and instructed her makeup artist, Andi, on a look: a shimmer for the eyelids and "Probably use some pink cheeks, too, " she said while pulling up the hood of a bright pink Versace sweatshirt. She had rinsed her face after shadowboxing at a nearby gym, eaten a meal of fish, rice and spinach, and was considering wearing a bright red dress hanging upstairs in Papoose's apartment.
Headline rematch set for Feb. 22 at Little Caesars Arena
The rematch with Franchón Crews-Dezurn is scheduled for 10 rounds on Sunday, Feb. 22 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The main card is scheduled to start at 8 p. m. ET/5 p. m. PT, with Shields and Crews-Dezurn expected to make their ringwalk around 11 p. m. ET/8 p. m. PT. Event planners expect roughly 18, 000 fans to pack the arena for the main event.
Claressa Shields and Franchón Crews-Dezurn: records, ages and fighting styles
Nearly 10 years after their first meeting, Shields (17-0-0) defends her IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO undisputed women's heavyweight titles against Franchón Crews-Dezurn (10-2-0), a former undisputed super-middleweight champion. The matchup pits Shields's technical, precise and fast style against Crews-Dezurn's aggressive, punch-forward approach—Crews-Dezurn uses pressure and power to break down opponents while Shields controls matches with active jabs and timely attacks.
Shields is described in pre-fight coverage as a 30-year-old Michigan native; Crews-Dezurn is listed as 38 and from Virginia Beach. Shields won their first professional meeting by unanimous decision nearly a decade ago.
Streaming, access and betting odds for the rematch
The Shields–Crews-Dezurn rematch is available to stream on DAZN. If you already have a DAZN subscription, the livestream is available at no additional cost. DAZN plan pricing in pre-fight information lists a $20. 99-per-month annual plan, a $30. 99 monthly flexible pass, and an "Ultimate Pass" at $44. 99 per month for one year. After signing up, viewers can purchase access to the Shields vs. Crews-Dezurn 2 livestream.
Pre-fight odds list Shields as the heavy favorite with a moneyline of -2, 400 and Crews-Dezurn as the underdog at +1, 140. Promo copy for the card described the rematch as likely "worth the price of the streaming service subscription. "
Virality, relationships and the cost of fame
Shields's profile accelerated last February when she publicly launched her relationship with Papoose, who is going through a divorce with rapper Remy Ma. Since then her public profile "snowballed into superstardom, " and she says people are obsessed with her lifestyle. "My stuff stays viral for days and days and days. I just be like 'Yo, are you guys not done yet?'" she said, adding "Probably a week. "
She described the constant attention—"People just like me, or don't like me, I don't know, but they're obsessed with my lifestyle"—and detailed how fans, celebrities, enemies and bots all respond on social media, from "Joe Schmo to Jake Paul. " In the five hours spent with her, Shields pushed back at Instagram trolls and online "liars, " saying the fight for her legacy continues both inside and outside the ring.
During a makeup touch, Andi applied a cream-colored eyeshadow, blended it, then dabbed a shimmery gold over Shields's lids; Shields's eyes popped and the bags beneath them faded. Keeping her eyes closed, Shields told Andi to do something she had never done before—what she asked for is unclear in the provided context.
Where Shields sits in her career timeline
For more than a decade Shields "grinded in obscurity, " yet she is also a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning in 2012 and again in 2016, when she became the first American boxer to win back-to-back Olympic golds. The upcoming main event arrives 14 years after her first Olympic gold and nine years after she faced Crews-Dezurn in her pro debut on an undercard in Las Vegas.
