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Claressa Shields had to choose which of her WBO titles to hold on to – and she has opted to vacate her light heavyweight title while holding on to her heavyweight belt.
That news was announced by WBO President Gustavo Olivieri.
“Per our rules, no WBO champion may hold titles in two different weight divisions simultaneously,” Olivieri posted on social media.
Shields won the vacant WBO heavyweight title – and a couple of other vacant belts to become the undisputed heavyweight champion – on February 2 with her unanimous decision over Danielle Perkins. The 29-year-old native of Flint, Michigan, moved to 16-0 (3 KOs), and added to a career that has also included becoming undisputed twice at middleweight and once at junior middleweight, plus winning titles at 168lbs and 175lbs.
Shields won the WBO’s vacant light heavyweight title – alongside the WBC’s heavyweight title, which confusingly is for women above 168lbs – with her July 2024 win over Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.
Michigan’s athletic commission says Shields tested positive for marijuana after the Perkins fight. Shields says she has never used marijuana – which is not a performance-enhancing drug – and suggested her positive test may have come from secondhand smoke in the arena or contact with other people on fight night. She has appealed her suspension, and the head of the Association of Boxing Commissions has criticized the Michigan commission.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
