Claressa Shields knocked out WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse early in the second round on Saturday night to win titles in the fourth and fifth divisions.
Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, moved up two weight classes to fight at 175 pounds as a light heavyweight and also claimed the heavyweight belt from her Canadian opponent. Her previous titles came at 154, 160 and 168 pounds.
She joined Roy Jones Jr. as the only two boxers in more than 100 years to win middleweight and heavyweight titles, making her one of the greatest athletes of all time in any sport, Shields said.
“What I’ve been able to do in my career, from amateur to pro, I’m definitely in the top five,” the 29-year-old said. “If you put me next to Michael Jordan, Kobe [Bryant]Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali. I’m definitely in that conversation.”
Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) closed the first round with a flurry of combinations and began the second with more, barely breaking a sweat as she landed a flurry of shots that knocked Lepage-Joanisse down for the third and final time 1:09 into the round. Lepage-Joanisse (22-3-1) had been hot on her heels from the start of her short night.
Shields was boxing for the first time since defending her undisputed middleweight title nearly 14 months ago with a lopsided unanimous decision over Maricela Cornejo.
In between fights, her record as an MMA fighter improved to 2-1 in February.
Shields gained 15 pounds, then lost 5 pounds, ultimately weighing just under 175 pounds for Saturday’s competition.
“I was able to eat a lot of pho,” she said. “Normally I have to be careful with noodles in camp because of the carbs.”
She sparred against men, including one at 180 pounds, and made some changes to her strength and conditioning program.
“If you watch Vanessa in her fights, she pushes girls back because her legs are really strong,” Shields said Thursday. “We’ve been making sure I have the strength in my legs to push her back, and not get pushed back, and we’ve really been working on my arm strength.”
Shields won gold medals in the women’s middleweight division at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, making her the first United States boxer to win consecutive Olympic medals. She is the only American to win Olympic gold in boxing since 2004 and was named Women’s Sports Foundation Female Athlete of the Year last October.
Shields was a big enough name to draw boxers to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena for the first time last year, and he did it again. He headlined the event with up-and-coming fighters, and the field sold out seats, while the lower level was largely full.