Claressa Shields and Danielle Perkins meet on Sunday in Flint, Mich., for the undis
Claressa Shields and Danielle Perkins will square off in a Sunday evening main event from Flint, Mich., streaming live on DAZN, for the undisputed championship of the women’s heavyweight division, which realistically doesn’t actually exist, but all the same, it’s Shields trying to become a three-weight undisputed champ.
Shields says she’s not overlooking Perkins, and that she believes the naturally bigger woman to be a dangerous opponent.
“Danielle might be stronger, she is smooth and has skills,” Shields said. “She went to the world championships and won a gold medal and a bronze. I won three gold medals at the world championships and two Olympic gold medals.
“Danielle may not be the fastest, she’s unorthodox and is a southpaw, but when she hits her opponents, their whole game plans change.”
The 29-year-old Shields (15-0, 3 KO) will be an enormous favorite in the fight, because she has simply proven herself a level — at least — above her competition so many times now, and on paper, Perkins (5-0, 2 KO) just doesn’t seem like the woman to change that.
But Perkins says nobody has seen her at her best yet, because she struggles to find decent opposition herself.
“No one has ever wanted to fight me,” Perkins said, after giving Shields credit for fighting as a heavyweight. “I have only had five professional fights because no one wants to step in the ring with me. It’s unfortunate because I’ve got some skills.
“I know that Claressa is up for the challenge. This is a real risk. No other middleweight would ever take this kind of risk.”
Perkins, 42, admits that she and Shields are friends outside of the ring, but insists that will have no bearing on how she fights.
“I have never had any ill will toward Claressa outside of the ring, but I am going into this fight with 100 percent intent to kill,” she said. “It has nothing to do with her outside of the ring.”
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