Claressa Shields recorded the first defense of her second tenure as undisputed middleweight champion by comprehensively out-pointing Maricela Cornejo, the number-one challenger in three of the widely recognized sanctioning bodies, before her home state fans in Detroit.
Shields lived up to her “T-Rex” nickname by being in predatory mode throughout and she consistently connected with clean, head-snapping blows.
Shields’ offensive output was balanced (230 jabs, 255 power shots), but despite the blizzard of power connects, Cornejo remained on her feet, though unable to mount a consistent attack.
Shields was more active (48.5 punches per two-minute round to Cornejo’s 30.7) and more accurate (26% vs. 10% overall, 10% vs. 4% jabs, 40% vs. 23% power), which resulted in Shields landing nearly four times as many total punches (124 vs. 32) and almost three times as many jabs (23 vs. 8).
Shields also more than quadrupled Cornejo in power connects (101 vs. 24) and landed body shots (26 vs. 6). Cornejo landed no more than six total punches in any round (round four) while Shields recorded double-digits in total connects in each of the final nine rounds. Scoring: 100-90 (2x), 100-89.