Shields dominates Daniels to defend undisputed heavyweight title

Claressa Shields retained her undisputed heavyweight world championship with a unanimous decision win over Lani Daniels in Detroit.

The 30-year-old Shields, a two-time Olympic champion, multi-weight world champion and the first undisputed heavyweight world champion in women's boxing, improved to 17-0 in front of 15,366 fans at Little Caesars Arena.

The 36-year-old Daniels, the IBF light-heavyweight titlist, dropped to 11-3-2, ending a run of seven consecutive victories.

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Daniels moved along the ropes for two rounds to stay away from Shields, who was patient until unleashing a flurry of combinations late in both.

Daniels did not run subsequently - and Shields took advantage with punishing blows to the body and head. The American took the victory on all three scorecards 100-90 and 99-91 twice.

Daniels was boxing for the first time outside of her native New Zealand and was not welcomed in the Motor City, where Shields is a fan favorite.

Shields, elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, has revived big-time boxing in Detroit.

The city with a rich history in the sport that includes Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Thomas Hearns went decades without relevant fights.

The Red Wings and Pistons moved into Little Caesars Arena in 2017, but the arena didn't have a boxing card until 2023 when Shields was the headliner and beat Maricela Cornejo.

Shields was back at Little Caesars Arena last summer, knocking out WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in front of about 12,000 fans - and she drew a bigger crowd for her latest fight.

Shields won middleweight gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, making her the first boxer from the United States to win consecutive Olympic medals. Professionally, she has earned titles in five divisions from 154 to 200lbs.

Her team has made an offer to Muhammad Ali's daughter Laila Ali to come out of retirement and box Shields for her heavyweight titles.

Shield's promoter Dmitry Salita told Sky Sports: "A women's undisputed heavyweight championship bout between these two icons has the potential to be the fight of the century in this new millennium."

Zayas wins first title

Rising star Xander Zayas has become a world champion. At the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York Zayas dominated Mexico's Jorge Garcia by unanimous decision (116-112, 118-110, and 119-109) to win the WBO super-welterweight belt.

"This is a dream come true. This is beautiful. To see my Puerto Rican fans here, this is amazing. I could never dream of anything better than this," Zayas said.

On the bill Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington captured the WBC interim featherweight title with a lopsided unanimous decision (119-109 twice and 120-108) against Namibian contender Mateus Heita.

"I'm ready. I've been calling out all the champions. They already know. I see [Rafael] Espinoza in the crowd. I want to fight him. I want to fight Nick Ball. I want to fight Stephen Fulton," Carrington said.

Also on the bill 21-year-old super-lightweight phenom Emiliano Fernando Vargas blitzed Ecuador's Alexander Espinoza with a first-round knockout.