By Daniel Gonzalez

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Flint Michigan native and two time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields (9-0, 2 KOs) continues to make her case to be considered the best female boxer of all time.

At the Adrian Phillips Theater at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Shields dominated the previously unbeaten Christina Hammer (24-1, 11 KOs), to earn a unanimous decision win and become the unified and undisputed middleweight champion. All three Judges had Shield winning eight out of the ten rounds in the contest.

Judges Guido Cavalleri (98-91) and Robin Taylor (98-91) both scored the eighth round 10-8, while Judge Lynne Carter had the bout 98-92. Shield’s unloaded a barrage of combinations and came very close to knocking Hammer out in eighth round. One can only wonder that if it were a three minute round, would Shields have gotten Hammer out of there.

Shields now joins Cecilia Braekhus as the only female boxers to hold the all four world titles. They share this rare accolade with only 4 male boxers; Bernard Hopkins, Jermaine Taylor and more recently Terrence Crawford and Oleksander Usyk. Shields in her quest for immortality in women’s boxing, mentioned to Jimmy Lennon, Jr. in the post fight interview that she is interested in facing Braekhus in an even bigger womens boxing event.

She also indicated that she would be interested in a match up with England’s Savannah Marshall, who is the only woman to beat her in her 77-1 amateur career.

Shields speed and power, as well as her ability to to avoid Hammer’s punches, was the story in the fight. The pro-Shields crowd also played a role in energizing her. According to Showtime’s unofficial punch stats, Shields landed more than twice as many punches as Hammer (112 of 387 to 49 of 366). Shields was threw significantly more power punches (94 of 212 to 24 of 136), while Hammer, who is known for her jab, had a slight edge (25 of 230 to 18 of 175).

There is no question that Shields was dominant. I had Hammer winning only the first round, which could have gone either way, and the sixth round.

Shields, who is only 24 year old undoubtedly has a very bright future in the sport of boxing. She was not only the headliner on a fight card featured on Showtime, the fight also did well at the box office at Boardwalk Hall. Leading up to the fight, Shields said, “When I beat Christina Hammer, I want the headlines to say, ‘Shield Nails the Hammer.” That is exactly what she did. She showcased all aspects of her boxing prowess while continuing to make her case as the “The Great Woman’s Boxer of All Time” or G.W.O.A.T., as she says. There is another Michigan born boxer who “May” have fulfilled his self proclamation as “The Best Ever” or “TBE”…Can Claressa Shield do the same?

Daniel Gonzalez is a Senior Boxing Writer. Dan writes for many publications including Boxing Action Magazine, www.BoxingAction24.com and www.SideStepBoxing.com

Photos by Stephanie Trapp