Making her UK debut against unbeaten, power-punching southpaw Ema Kozin was, judging solely by the numbers, a pretty risky proposition for Claressa Shields.
On the line at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales on Saturday were not only Claressa's WBC, WBA, IBF, and Ring magazine middleweight titles, but the feverishly-anticipated unification fight against her arch rival Savannah Marshall looming ever closer on the horizon. Not to mention her self-applied reputation as the GWOAT of women's boxing.
Besides Kozin's secondary WBF belt, which was additionally up for grabs, as well as her undefeated record, Ema had comparatively little to lose which made her a very dangerous adversary indeed. Her pre-fight remarks were indicative of this. "I see it as a huge opportunity and not as some kind of burden," said a relaxed and ready Kozin. "I don't feel any pressure because of who she is."
With a lone blemish on her ledger in the form of a split draw with Irais Hernandez, which Kozin rectified by earning a lopsided decision in their rematch, the 23-year-old Slovenian had won 11 of her previous 21 bouts before the final bell. On the other hand, Shields threatened to "destroy" Kozin during a presser in the type of aggressive vernacular which has become ubiquitous in its usage by her, but is backed up by scant supporting evidence.
Just two of her eleven victories as a professional have occurred inside the distance, both of these knockouts being of the technical variety with neither Szilvia Szabados or Nikki Adler touching the canvas. In fact, Shields has hit the deck an equal amount of times as her challengers. Claressa floored but failed to finish off Ivana Habazin last January, and suffered a first-round knockdown at the hands of Hanna Gabriels in June 2018. Her primary offensive asset is not natural strength but incredible hand speed which accounts for a high volume of punches.
This very topic came up during discussions Shields had with Floyd Mayweather Jr. while she spent time training at his Las Vegas gym in preparation for the fight. "He told me something that I already knew, that with my punching power and my skills and everything, he said I need to calm down and the knockouts will come," Claressa said. "But the lack of knockouts isn’t because I’m not strong or fast or skilled. It’s because I’m always so anxious. He gave me some tips on how to be calm and go out there and see the shots and all that."
Why so much emphasis is put on the comparatively low percentage of stoppage victories in women's boxing is a little baffling. In this case, perhaps it's because of the imminent showdown between the slick, brisk-paced Shields and Savannah Marshall with her 81% KO ratio. There is no denying that a knockout is extremely fan-friendly for the dramatic thrill of it, but the presence or absence of one should neither define nor detract from the sheer excitement of a terrific, action-packed fight. The fact that this metaphorical exclamation point is sometimes not tacked onto the end of a suspenseful and engaging narrative that never once loses the plot does not in any way ruin the story, and the importance placed upon whether it is there or not kind of misses the point. But it keeps folks talking and interested and endlessly debating, which is never a bad thing.
In any event, this intriguing stylistic contrast between Shields and her mandatory challenger matched Claressa's quick tempo versus a brute force with which Kozin hoped to prove that might makes right. Both women were bringing unique skill sets to the table in Cardiff, and this promised to make for an interesting night at the office to say the least.
A two-division world champion, Kozin's last outing came in May 2021 when she put away the badly over-matched Radana Knezevic in the second round of a non-title bout. Her previous defense was a hard-fought unanimous decision over Chris Namus seven months earlier. It had been exactly eleven months to the day since Shields had last been competitively active as a boxer.
Her 154-pound unification fight against Marie Eve Dicaire in March 2021 predated a pair of MMA skirmishes that rounded out her year, the second of which resulted in Shields' first loss as a professional athlete and only her second-ever defeat. The first, of course, was dealt to her by the aforementioned Savannah Marshall at the 2012 World Championships.
Claressa's lengthy absence from the prize ring was mainly the result of a mounting frustration she felt at not being properly acknowledged or paid her worth. A two-fight, million-dollar deal with Boxxer Promotions and Sky Sports changed all that, and is believed to culminate in the Shields vs. Marshall grudge match that has long been near the top of every fight fan's wish list.
The Shields/Kozin contest had been originally slated for this past December, but was postponed when co-headliner Liam Williams, who wound up getting dropped four times and blown out by Chris Eubank Jr. in Saturday's main event, withdrew due to a shoulder injury. Claressa Shields put on a performance in the evening's co-feature which was every bit as dominant, and arguably the finest of her career to this point.
After feeling Kozin out for the duration of the opening two-minute frame, Shields began establishing her supremacy in round two by patiently and thoughtfully walking her opponent down and using her jab to create openings for lightning-fast, multi-punch combinations. Investing heavily in body shots, Claressa cashed in on the opportunity to deliver blows to Kozin's midsection with a frequency and effectiveness we have never really seen from her before. This, she later revealed, was inspired by paying astute attention to Amanda Serrano.
Working from a flatfooted, squared-up stance did Kozin no favors, making her an easier target for Shields' offensives while allowing her virtually no chance of getting off any power punches which may have possibly turned the tide in her favor at any given moment. The challenger's frustration was writ unmistakably upon her facial features and evident in her body language as she returned to her corner after the bell signaled the end of the second round. Things would not get any better for her, I'm afraid.
Shields was as well-rounded, composed, and in complete command of the situation against Kozin as she has ever been as a professional athlete. Though never lacking in the department of a dedicated work ethic, the remarkable results she achieved so effortlessly on Saturday are commensurate with the development of her ring IQ as time has gone on. Defensively, Shields put on a clinic as well, ducking and dodging Kozin's occasionally earnest efforts and generally employing elusive head movement and lateral footwork to stick and move when the moment warranted it.
Flipping the script on her powerful opponent, Claressa nearly got the show-stopping climax she wanted halfway through the fourth round, trapping Kozin against the ropes and nailing her with a barrage of heavy-handed blows that necessitated a clinch on the part of her challenger to preserve her survival. Indeed, she seemed to be on the verge of attaining a stoppage on a handful of occasions throughout the remainder of the fight, and Shields would later grumble about referee Victor Loughlin's reluctance to halt the bout. This was simply a bit of sour grapes on Claressa's behalf. Even if she absorbed a large accumulation of punches, Kozin was never in the sort of apparent danger that would have called for the referee's intervention.
Nevertheless, Shields retained her titles and pitched an impressive shutout in front of the appreciative fans in Cardiff by across the board tallies of 100-90. And then the fireworks truly began.
Savannah Marshall, sitting ringside and provocatively pretending to nap when the Sky Sports cameras focused on her during the Shields/Kozin fight, was brought over to where Claressa was situated after the rendering of the decision and asked to comment on what she observed.
"I think if you perform like that against me, I'll absolutely wipe the floor with you," said the typically mild-mannered Brit they call the 'Silent Assassin.' An incensed Shields responded, "Guess what? You couldn't wipe my drawers. You can't do shit with me." The verbal back and forth escalated by Marshall mocking Claressa for "going ten rounds with an absolute child" and claiming that "people were walking out after round five." Referring to Shields as "pillow fists," Marshall vowed "I'll stop you," and repeated it for emphasis.
Shields called Savannah a "bum," yelling that "Femke going to give you so much hell" in reference to Femke Hermans who lost to Claressa in 2018 and will be squaring off against Marshall on March 12. "Where your gold medals at?" Shields screamed in Savannah's face after Marshall made dismissive mention of Claressa's "tattered necklace...that'll turn your neck green."
"Zero." Shields shot back. "You got none." No doubt appreciating the ballyhoo but wisely acting to diffuse what was sure to become a physical altercation, ringside security and the promoters of both fighters stepped between the two before things got out of hand. When fists start flying, let it happen properly in the ring for a huge payday. It is hoped that will finally occur in June, following hot on the heels of the April 30 clash between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden.
The evening's curtain raiser saw former amateur standout and current lightweight prospect Caroline Dubois make good on her professional debut by taking a six-round decision from Vaida Masiokaite, a 34-year-old Lithuanian who had won only two of her twenty previous fights.
Caroline is the sibling of top-ranked heavyweight contender David Dubois, who is supportive of his younger sister's pugilistic endeavor. After masquerading by necessity as a boy named Colin at the age of nine in order to gain admittance into a local male-only gym, Caroline would go on to lose just three of her forty amateur fights.
A four-time European World Youth Champion and 2018 World Youth Champion, Dubois would scrap her way to a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games that same year. She represented Great Britain at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, losing by a single point to Thailand's Sudaporn Seesondee in the quarter-finals.
Rather than bide her time for another crack at Olympic gold, Caroline opted to turn pro. Joining her big brother David in the stable of trainer Shane McGuigan, Dubois has signed exclusive contracts with Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom and broadcast network Sky Sports.
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