By Ian S Palmer
Original article; https://www.sportsbetlistings.com/boxing/vanessa-lepage-joanisse-vs-claressa-shields-betting-odds-and-prediction/24031/
Undefeated Claressa Shields of Flint, Michigan will be moving up in weight this Saturday, July 27th as she challenges Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse of Quebec, Canada. The 10-round bout from Detroit, Michigan is set at 175 lbs and can be seen live on DAZN and up for grabs will be Lepage-Joanisse’s WBC and WBF World Heavyweight Titles as well as the vacant WBO Light Heavyweight Belt. The champion last fought in March when she edged Abril Argentina Vidal by 10-round split decision while Shields last saw action in June when she beat Maricela Cornejo by 10-round unanimous decision to defend her undisputed World Women’s Middleweight Championship Belts. Shields, is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and three-weight world champion as a pro.
The 29-year-old Shields carries around a perfect record of 14-0 with 2 Ko’s to her name for a current knockout ratio of just 14.3 per cent. She’s boxed 121 rounds since making her pro debut in 2017 after reportedly going 77-1 as an amateur. Shields won gold at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics as a middleweight and as a pro she holds the record for becoming a two and three-weight world champion in the fewest professional contests and is the only boxer in history to hold four major world titles (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) at the same time in two different weight classes.
As an amateur, she also won gold at the 2014 and 2016 World championships as well as the 2015 Pan American Games, where she took it as a light heavyweight. Since turning pro, she became the undisputed middleweight champion in 2019 by beating Christina Hammer and the undisputed light-middleweight champion two years later by beating Marie Eve Dicaire. From 2017 to 2018 she was also the unified IBF and WBC Super Middleweight Champion. Shields stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68-inch reach.
The 29-year-old Lepage-Joanisse enters the ring with a mark of 7-1 with 2 Ko’s and has boxed just 35 rounds since making her pro debut in 2016. She also lacks power as just 28.6 per cent of her wins have come by stoppage. She measures 5-feet-6-inches tall with an unlisted reach so is two inches shorter than Shields. Lepage-Joanisse’s lone defeat came at the hands of Alejandra Jiminez by third-round TKO in August, 2017 in a shot at the WBC Heavyweight Title.
The Canadian then walked away from the sport and didn’t fight again until March, 2023. She captured the vacant WBC Heavyweight Belt in her last outing when she beat Vidal. Lepage-Joanisse will be stepping up in class as she hasn’t faced any elite opponents as of yet but just one of her eight previous opponents entered the ring with a losing record.
Prediction…
Shields is actually taller than the heavyweight champion and neither of them really possess much in the way of power. Shields has significantly superior boxing skills and she will put them to good use this weekend as she adds another couple of titles to her collection in different weight classes.
