Unified middleweight and junior middleweight world champion Claressa Shields is expecting to return to the ring in the summer.
Shields (10-0, 2 KOs) was due to take part in a hometown unification clash, at 154-pounds, with unbeaten Marie-Eve Dicaire (17-0, 0 KOs) of Canada, in the headline bout of a Showtime televised card in Flint, Michigan.
The fight was going to take place on May 9, but it was pushed back due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Sporting events are slowly starting to resume. All of them are being staged in a closed doors setting.
In the last two weeks, the UFC have staged three events in Florida, with no fans in attendance.
Shields is willing to fight without fans in attendance - as long as the event takes place outside of her hometown. Shields will not fight at home until the state's restrictions would permit fans in the venue.
“My next fight is supposed to be at the beginning of August,” Shields told Jonathan Deutsch of Mid-Michigan NOW. “Right now, I’ve been told it may be without fans so if I fight without fans … no, it will not be here in Flint because that defeats the purpose of fighting at home.
“I want to fight in front of my family, my friends and everybody in Flint. I’m not going to fight without a crowd here. But my fight after August, when the world opens back up and I can have a crowd, I’ll definitely be fighting back in Flint.”
Because of the current travel restrictions, it's not clear if Dicaire will still be the opponent for Shields' next fight.