Claressa Maria Shields is an African American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who is making history in the boxing world. She is the only boxer in history, female or male, to hold all four major world titles in boxing—WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO—simultaneously, in two weight classes. Additionally, she holds the record for becoming a two and three-weight world champion in the fewest professional fights.
Shields has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the undisputed female light middleweight title since March 2021; the undisputed female middleweight title from 2019 to 2020; and the unified WBC and IBF female super middleweight titles from 2017 to 2018.
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In 2019, she became a three-weight world champion after defeating Ivana Habazin by unanimous decision to win the vacant WBO junior middleweight title. This made her only the second woman ever to win three major boxing world titles, after Christy Martin. In 2022, ESPN named her women’s fighter of the year
As of October 2022, Shields was ranked as the world’s best active female middleweight by BoxRec, as well as the best active female boxer, pound for pound, by ESPN and The Ring — an impressive feat for any boxer, let alone one who is still early in their career. Simply put, Claressa Maria Shields is a legend in the making. With so many accomplishments already under her belt at such a young age, there’s no telling what she will achieve next in her career.
