Claressa Shields relaxes Lani Daniels in defense of undisputed heavyweight title | Claressa Shields

Claressa Shields retained her undisputed women’s heavyweight title on Saturday night’s unanimous decision against Lani Daniels at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

The judge scored 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91 to support Shields, who rose to 17-0 (3 KOS). It marks the third consecutive major event appearance in Detroit, the 30-year-old Flint native and two-time Olympic gold medalist, remains the only boxer to become the undisputed champion of three different weight classes in the four-belt era.

Daniels (11-3-2, 1 KO) is a 37-year-old former IBF lightweight champion from New Zealand who has little early attack and circles around the opening ceremony. Shields are forced to press the action and gradually control the variety at higher timing, footwork and punching.

In the middle round, the shield had closed the distance and landed the consistent body and combination toward the head. Daniels started to gain a foothold in the sixth and seventh rounds, but struggled to match Shields’ output or accuracy.

The final round took more two-way moves, but the shield was still under control through the choice of clean shooting and a clearer counter. She surpassed Daniels in every round and neutralized late pressure on her opponents through disciplined defense and calculated communication.

The battle played an 11-strike card on DAZN and attracted a 15,366 announced crowd. Shields’ first two appearances at Little Caesars Arena also returned the Boxing Reply to a venue, which hosted a major card until 2023 before she beat Maricela Cornejo in 2023.

In the joint home game, Detroit’s Tony Harrison (30-4-1, 21 KOS) returned after 28 months of layoffs, and despite being defeated in the ninth round, a unanimous final victory against Edward Diaz (15-7, 12 kos. Harrison is a former superweight champion and is the first fight since losing to Tim Tszyu in 2023.