Shields Reclaims Unified Middleweight Titles by TKO

Claressa Shields dropped three weight classes and stopped Australia’s Kaye Scott to reclaim the unified WBC and WBA middleweight titles at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

A left hook and a towel end it

Shields hurt Scott with a sharp left hook in the sixth round. Scott stumbled against the ropes and took a count. Her corner threw the towel at 1:38, the first stoppage loss of Scott’s career.

Scott had pressed forward, trying to pin Shields on the ropes, but Shields fought well off the back foot and her speed made counters hard to find. The jab and quick combinations that troubled Scott early left swelling on her forehead well before the finish.

Heavyweight ruler, middleweight again

Shields arrived as the undisputed heavyweight champion and shed 38 pounds to make the 160-pound limit, a weight she last ruled in 2023. The cut did not dull her power and moved her record to 19-0.

The Olympic gold medallist has now held a middleweight belt in two separate reigns, first from 2018 to 2024. A five-division champion, she remains the top pound-for-pound woman in the sport.

"This was a really hard camp," Shields said. "I was at 198 pounds and got down to 160. She was stronger than what I thought."

The win gave Shields her first knockout in two years and returned her to a division she once swept clean.