Shields Drops To Middleweight to Chase History
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Claressa Shields drops from heavyweight back down to middleweight on Saturday to challenge Kaye Scott for the WBA and WBC titles at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Shields is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the only boxer in the four-belt era to become undisputed champion in three weight classes. She last competed at middleweight in 2023, and weighed 174 pounds for her most recent fight — a successful defence of the undisputed heavyweight titles against Franchón Crews-Dezurn in February. The weight cut is the main question mark heading into Saturday.
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Scott, 42, turned professional only in 2023 following a decorated amateur career in Australia. She claimed the vacant WBA and WBC belts with a majority decision over Olivia Curry last December but has yet to record a stoppage in seven professional bouts.
A Shields win would put her alongside Roy Jones Jr. as the only boxer to win a world title in a lower weight class after holding heavyweight gold — a piece of history that gives the bout its wider significance regardless of the opposition.
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