Claressa Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) scored a rare knockout, stopping WBC female heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-2, 2 KO) in the second round on Saturday night at the Little Ceasars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
The 29-year-old Shields used her hand speed to unload with speedy combinations, dropping Lepage-Joanisse three times to score a second-round knockout. The stoppage occurred at 1:09 of round two.
It’s unclear why Lepage-Joanisse didn’t make any adjustments to keep the action on the outside after the first knockdown, as Shields was tagging her at will in close. There were no adjustments from Lepage-Joanisse, and Shields kept getting them worked over.
Shields looked great, but her opponent was so poor that it was hard to fully appreciate her performance tonight. It’s just unbelievable that Lepage-Joanisse was the WBC female heavyweight champion.
Shields’s hand speed was too much for Lepage-Joanisse, who wouldn’t match here and was getting worked over.
Michel Rivera Edges Hugo Roldan in Split Decision
In a more competitive fight on the card, light welterweight contender Michel Rivera (26-1, 14 KOs) defeated Hugo Roldan (22-3-1, 7 KOs) by a ten round split decision. The score were 98-91 and 98-90 for Rivera, and 95-94 for Roldan.
The win for Rivera was his second straight since losing to Frank Martin in 2022. Tonight, Rivera had the ideal opponent in Roldan, who didn’t show much power to keep him honest.
It would be nice to see Michel Rivera face former IBF 140-lb champion Subriel Matias next because both guys like to slug and would make it entertaining for as long as it lasts.
Smith Upsets Ergashev in Super Lightweight Bout
Julian Storm” Smith (9-2, 5 KOs) pulled off a surprising upset, defeating former light welterweight title challenger Shohjahon Ergashev (24-2, 21 KOs) in the fifth round.
The scores were 95-94 and 95-94 for Smith and 95-94 for Egashev. It’s surprising that Ergashev lost to this level of a fighter because they should have dominated.
