Hanna Gabriels regrets her failure to finish off Claressa Shields in their middleweight title fight.
That’s why Gabriels is especially appreciative of her opportunity to challenge Shields again almost five years later. The 160-pound championship rematch between Shields and Gabriels, who remains the only opponent to drop Shields in a professional fight, was officially announced Tuesday.
Shields (13-0, 2 KOs), of Flint, Michigan, will defend her IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO middleweight titles against Gabriels (21-2-1, 12 KOs) in a main event DAZN will stream from Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit.
“I know that Claressa is looking for the right adversary to put on a Fight of the Year-type fight that Taylor versus Serrano was,” Gabriels said. “So, I’ve done my homework since our last encounter five years ago and I’m a much more improved and dangerous fighter now. Claressa and boxing fans can expect to see the best version of Hanna Gabriels come fight night. I knocked Claressa down in our first fight and I intend to do the same in our rematch. Only this time, she’ll stay down.”
Gabriels gave Shields the most memorable scare of her career in the first round of their June 2018 bout at Masonic Temple in Detroit. Her right uppercut dropped Shields to the seat of her trunks with 48 seconds to go in the opening round of their 10-rounder.
A surprised Shields took a deep breath, got up by the time referee Gerard White’s count reached three and slipped several of Gabriels’ punches once the action continued. Shields recovered and went on to beat Gabriels convincingly on all three scorecards.
Judge Michael Ancona scored nine rounds for Shields (98-91), who won eight rounds apiece according to judges Jeremy Hayes (97-92) and Pasquale Procopio (97-92).
Though Shields decisively defeated her, Costa Rica’s Gabriels (21-2-1, 12 KOs) moved back down and defended her WBA 154-pound championship twice after their fight. Then she moved up three weight classes to win the WBA’s then-vacant light heavyweight crown in her most recent bout.
“Hanna Gabriels knocked me down in round one in our first fight,” Shields said, “and I’ve wanted the rematch ever since to settle that score.”
The 28-year-old Shields tried to secure a fight against England’s Natasha Jonas before she settled on a rematch against Gabriels. Shields said Jonas (13-2-1, 8 KOs), the IBF/WBC/WBO 154-pound champ, wanted “retirement money” to face her next, which led Shields to seek another opponent.
Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, produced perhaps her most noteworthy win in her last fight. She again fully unified the middleweight titles by beating British rival Savannah Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs), the only opponent to beat her as an amateur or pro, by unanimous decision in their 10-round unification fight October 15 at O2 Arena in London.
By Keith Idec