Claressa Shields will defend her undisputed heavyweight championship in Detroit on 22 February, returning home for a rematch with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in her first fight since signing a landmark $8m promotional deal. The bout will headline a Dazn card at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the NBA’s Pistons and NHL’s Red Wings where Shields attracted a near-sellout crowd for her most recent fight last July.
Shields (17-0, 3 KO) and Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KO) first met nearly a decade ago when they made their professional debuts against each other on the undercard of Andre Ward’s victory over Sergey Kovalev in 2016. Shields won a four-round unanimous decision that night in Las Vegas, a moment she still sees as formative. “I had just come off winning two Olympic gold medals, fresh out of the amateurs, and finding an opponent was tough,” she said in a press release announcing the fight. “Franchon stepped in. I’ve grown a lot since that first victory, but me and Franchon have unfinished business that needs to be settled.”
The Michigan-born star and double Olympic champion returns to action for the first time since reuniting with Salita Promotions and adding Wynn Records as a co-promotional partner. She said fighting again in her home state carries its own pressure. “Selling out Little Caesars Arena was a dream, and my fans made that come true,” she said. “Fighting in Michigan motivates me, and it also puts pressure on me because I never want to fail them.”
Crews-Dezurn, who went on to become an undisputed champion at super-middleweight in 2022 before losing it to Britain’s Savannah Marshall, will move up to heavyweight for the rematch. She said the meeting comes at the right moment for both fighters. “I’ve been waiting and working a long time for this moment,” she said. “This time as established champions with great legacies. I’m daring to be even greater by going up in weight, strutting into hell so I can create my heaven.”
Shields, who said she is fully healthy after what she described as injury-affected performances in recent outings, said she plans to close the rivalry decisively. “I won a unanimous decision the first time, but come February 22, I don’t have those same plans. I plan on putting Franchon Crews on her back and leaving with the KO. Franchon is elite, but I am super elite.”
Promoter Dmitriy Salita said the rematch represents both fighters’ growth since their shared debut on the Ward v Kovalev card. “Nearly a decade ago, Claressa and Franchon stepped into the ring as two Olympians making their professional debuts,” he said. “Since then, both have risen to become world champions and global forces in women’s boxing.”
Shields’ return comes months after she chose to remain with the promoter who guided her from her debut onward, finalizing a minimum-guaranteed $8m multi-fight agreement with Salita Promotions in partnership with Wynn Records. The deal followed a brief spell in which Shields explored free agency after her title defense against Lani Daniels in July.
She ultimately opted to stay, saying the new arrangement offered the scale and visibility she has long pushed for in women’s boxing and aligned with her broader ambitions outside the ring.
The partnership with Wynn Records – a music-focused imprint that counts several artists on its roster and marks Shields as its first athlete – is designed to blend boxing with cultural and entertainment projects. Salita called Shields “one of the defining athletes of her generation” when the pact was announced and said the collaboration aims to create opportunities that traditional promotional models do not.
Shields, who had fielded interest from multiple suitors and even pursued a high-profile, unsuccessful-to-date overture to lure Laila Ali out of retirement, said the new deal reflects her intent to continue reshaping the economics and expectations surrounding women’s boxing.
