Featured photo by Tanya Terry
Written by Tanya Terry
People around the globe are getting excited!
Flint native and current Undisputed Middleweight World Champion Claressa Shields is scheduled to fight WBC Heavyweight World Championship Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse Saturday, July 27.
The match takes place at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit.
A press conference was held right in Shields’ hometown beforehand.
During the event, Mayor Sheldon Neeley asked those present to be welcoming towards Shields’ opponent.
Still, he said: “Competition is something we’ve never been afraid of in the city of Flint.”
A video featuring Shields was shown which showed the fighter both inside and outside of the ring. The video highlighted the street named in Shields’ honor in Flint, a one-block stretch of Spencer Street between Saginaw Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It also showed the bust of Shield at Flint City Hall. Additionally, Shields was seen holding some of her 16 world championship belts – and numerous magazines she was featured on were displayed.
After the video, Shields said she was not taking her opponent lightly. She added she expected her opponent to be bigger than she was before seeing her up close and in person.
“But she’s pretty stocky…So, I’m going to put on some more muscle…get my legs bigger…my arms bigger.
Shields pointed out she was ranked as ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.
“But I am that because I am from Flint and I worked very, very hard – and I just don’t think there is another woman on this earth who can beat me…”
Shields told the Courier she had previously competed in team sports and excelled in them, but her purpose was always for that experience to help her become an even better boxer. She also revealed that she realized she preferred one-on-one competition. According to Shields, if another player did not pass her the ball in basketball, for example, she would want to fight that player.
Lepage-Joanisse told the reporters that after seeing Shields face to face she felt more ready and confident than ever. She said she did not feel Shields had an edge because she is from Flint, Michigan.
Camille Estephan, president and founder of the boxing team Eye of The Tiger Management, accompanied Lepage-Joanisse. He translated what she said from French to English.
“She feels it’s about the mission-whether she’s from Flint, Montreal, they have a job to do,” translated Estephan to the Courier.
He added. “So by that night, it’s about who performs, who gives the best performance in the ring, whether it’s here or anywhere else.”
For tickets to the highly anticipated July 27 showdown through Ticketmaster, click here: https://www.ticketmaster.com/claressa-shields-vs-vanessa-lepagejoanisse-detroit-michigan-07-27-2024/event/080060BE0DCA574C?camefrom=CFC_313PRE_LCA_BOXING24_FB_OS&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR26fxCx0vmIgeM5IYWBqwz9e3yZmZlQHg1c7MKZvI0gyju3V12eyfxhe3U_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw
