Claressa Shields survived a 1st round knockdown to comeback and win a 10-round unanimous decision over Hanna Gabriels to win the IBF and WBA Middleweight titles at The Masonic Temple in Detroit.
In round one, Gabriels dropped Shields with a counter uppercut.
From there on out, it was all Shields as she wore down Gabriels and cause a cut in the 10th round on the left cheek that was originally caused by a headbutt in the 1st round.
Shields, 159 1/2 lbs of Flint, MI won by scores of 98-91 and 97-92 twice, and is now 6-0. Gabriels, 159 1/2 lbs of Costa Rica is 18-2-1.
After the bout, Christina Hammer entered the ring and a near melee ensued.
“I’m just tired of Hammer disrespecting me all the time,” Shields (6-0, 2 KOs) said. “She comes into the ring after all my rights, talks trash, and then she goes in there and looks like [crap] against Nelson. I’m sick of it. But I let her know I’m more than ready for a fight against her. She wanted me to lose tonight, but I wanted her to win because I want to fight her. We have to unify now.”
“Once I went down, I took a deep breath and I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’m about to whip this girl’ ” Shields said. “I just remember thinking let’s use the jab and be smart.”
“I trained to go the distance but my heart betrayed me, because after that first knock down, I was looking for another one,” said Gabriels, the reigning WBA and WBO champion who was fighting in her 12th straight world title fight since winning the welterweight title in 2009. “I wanted to show everyone I had a warrior’s heart.
“I didn’t feel I had an advantage after the knockdown. I felt I had to work round after round to even have a possibility to win.”
Added Gabriels: “She has a lot of power. It was a great fight and you have to accept the judges’ decision. She’s powerful and for the fans I think it went well.
Shields – in her first fight with new trainer John David Jackson – said she learned something about herself after the fight. “I can get put on my ass, get up and come back and win,” she said. “Tonight was my night and I have to show the world I’m the greatest of all-time. I showed who I am. Now, I’m really dangerous because you can even put me down, and I’ll still come back to win.”
Hammer retained the WBC/WBO Middleweight titles with a 10-round unanimous decision over Tori Nelson.
Hammer, 159 1/2 lbs of Dortlund, GER won by scores of 100-90 and 99-91 twice and is now 23-0-1. Nelson, 157 1/2 lbs of Ashburn, VA is 17-2-3.
“It would have been better to get a KO,” said Hammer, who is 27 years old and from Dortmund, Germany. “I tried everything I could to get the knockout. She was tough. I hope the USA is good with this and I’m still the champ.”
“I’m really looking forward to fighting Claressa. She will try and fight me on the inside but my footwork and my reach will make the difference. The fight with Claressa will be a game-changer. It will be the biggest women’s fight ever. I would like to fight her at a neutral site.”
“I’m very disappointed in my performance tonight,” said an emotional Nelson after the fight. “It’s a loss, of course it’s disappointing. I wasn’t busy enough, I guess.”
In her last fight, Nelson lost a unanimous decision to Shields back in January. “Claressa is better,” Nelson said. “Shields has a jab and uses the ring. Claressa stands there and wants to fight. She has all the punches. Hammer only has one
Umar Salmov stopped Brian Howard in round nine of their scheduled 10-round light heavyweight bout.
In round nine, Salamov landed a right hand that stunned and eventually dropped Howard to a knee for the 10-count at 53 seconds.
Salamov, 174 1/2 lbs of Russia is 21-1 with 16 knockouts. Howard, 174 1/2 lbs of Lambertville, GA is 13-2.
“I was hurt a little bit in the second round from one of his shots, but I didn’t let it bother me because this is my U.S. debut,” said Salamov, a six-year pro who is 24 years old. “I just kept fighting. After I got hit with that punch, I started coming forward and as soon as I did that, the fight changed.”
Salamov said he knew once he connected on the first right that Howard was hurt. “I knew as soon as I landed the punch that he would be very hurt,” he said. “I felt it up to my elbow. I didn’t want to hit him after that because I knew he was finished.”
“I would say I did fair, I did OK,” said Howard, a former minor league football player who lives outside of Atlanta and was making his SHOWTIME debut. “I was fortunate to get the call by Salamov’s team and by SHOWTIME. I’ll be back.
