DETROIT – July 25, 2024 – The final press conference was held today for “BIG TIME BOXING USA: SHIELDS VS. JOANISSE” featuring Undisputed Middleweight World Champion Claressa “GWOAT” Shields attempting to win a historic title in a fourth weight division by challenging WBC Women’s Heavyweight World Champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on Saturday, July 27, from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and live on premier global sports platform DAZN. The vacant WBO Light Heavyweight Championship will also be on the line.
Shields (14-0, 2 KOs) of Flint, Mich., and Lepage-Joanisse of Quebec, Canada, will headline a very special edition of “Big Time Boxing USA” presented by Salita Promotions and 313 Presents that also features two more world-class televised fights, an intriguing 10-round co-feature pitting world-ranked super lightweight Michel “La Zarza Ali” Rivera against 140-pound contender Hugo Alberto “Nato” Roldan and power-punching former world-title challenger Shohjahon “Descendant of Tamerlane” Ergashev taking on Julian “The Quiet Storm” Smith in a 10-round super lightweight bout.
Tickets for the July 27 event are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and the XFINITY Box Office at Little Caesars Arena.
Here is what the conference participants had to say today:
Claressa Shields
?Vanessa did not train hard enough for this fight. I saw her hitting the pads yesterday at the media workout, trying to impress me. I was not impressed. I sparred against bears for this camp. She’s sparring with girls I beat up already.
I’m happy she’s here. I hope she hits like a heavyweight because if she’s not punching like a heavyweight, she’s going to sleep.
She says she doesn’t trash talk. I trash talk and back it up. I will be heavyweight champion Saturday, and nobody will stand in my way. Her size means nothing to me. I’m coming from 160 pounds, but I will be the bear Saturday night.
She rubs me the wrong way. When I take her belt from her, she’s going back to Canada with nothing. She’s going home with a paycheck and beltless. That’s it.
I got to eat better and drink a lot more water for this camp. When you’ve beat everyone at 160 and 168, where else can you go but to heavyweight?
Pray for Vanessa because she’s going down Saturday night. If you’re not here July 27 you’ll be missing greatness. This fight will be one of my biggest fights. I’ll be a 15-time world champion come Saturday night. I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do to keep the T-rex off her Saturday night.
Amanda Serrano, Katie Taylor, Alicia Baumgartner, all of you can make a fight with me and we will see who the real GWOAT is. IT’S WAR TIME!
Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse
I’m thrilled to be here. It ‘s an honor. My hard work is done. I had a great camp, and my team is behind me. A lot of fans from Quebec will be here also.
I’m not a trash talker, I respect Claressa Shields and I know what’s she accomplished, but a fight is a fight. I’ll be ready Saturday night and I’m coming home with the belt in my suitcase. It’s going to be a fight, but I’m going to win it.
Honestly Claressa, I hope you didn’t waste to much energy putting on a show here. All this showing off is pointless. I’m ready to fight and nothing you say today will make a difference. Be ready Saturday night.
I had the best camp of my life and I’ve been focused on just this fight for a very long time. I’m in the best shape ever and I’m ready to shock the world.
Dmitriy Salita, Salita Promotions
Over the last couple days, there has been a lot of debate about who the GWOAT is and I’ve learned not to be emotional, but it did stir me up. Claressa Shields is the most accomplished women in boxing in history and she’s done things never done before. The term GWOAT was never spoken before Claressa. Her incredible personality and accomplishments have made women’s boxing what it is today. She’s given other women the confidence to believe they can be the best someday.
Claressa dreamed of being a champion as a child in Flint. Flint is struggling every day and to be a young person and decide to become everything she’s become is incredible. There is absolutely no debate who the GWOAT is.
What concerns me about this fight is that Vanessa has all the right ingredients of a champion. There will be 20,000 fans will be rooting against her. We saw her in the gym, and she looks sharp and strong. This is Claressa’s biggest challenge, and we look forward to a fantastic night of boxing. Save your ticket. It will be a collector’s item.
Mark Taffet, President Mark Taffet Media
When we saw we had the opportunity to come back for another fight at Little Caesars Arena, we all said let’s do it! Thanks to everyone for all their hard work to make this incredible fight happen.
Claressa is the GWOAT inside the ring, but she also strives to be great outside the ring by fighting for women’s equality and encouraging women to be their best and realize their dreams.
Imagine being a child growing up in your own home and facing horrors that you can’t imagine, things that no child should have to face with every room you walk in and every door you go through. Those are some of the things Claressa Shields faced as a child. She was nine before she could utter a word. She was a teenager before her words were decipherable. Somehow this kid went to a boxing gym and became not just a survivor but someone who achieved the unthinkable, after going through the unthinkable.
Michel Rivera
Hello beautiful people. I’m glad to be here in Detroit and in a big event with the best woman in boxing. I’m so excited and I look forward to putting on a good show Saturday.
Roldan is a tough fighter with a good record and he ‘s coming to win but obviously he will lose. I am a superstar! La Zarza Ali Rivera!
Training went good because I am tougher than the toughest.
Shohjahon Ergashev
I love Detroit. I’m from Uzbekistan and the first time I boxed professionally was in Detroit. I met SugarHill here and my promoter Dmitriy Salita. Detroit is my second home.
Good luck to Claressa Saturday night.
I studied him on YouTube and he’s not bad. He can fight. I’m more experienced and I am a future champion. I will stop him before the fifth round. If not, I will break his ribs.
We prepared for a hard fight. I will continue progressing my boxing skills and I will be world champion very soon. Thanks to my promoter. He’s doing a great job.
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Headlining the un-televised portion of the night will be a 10-round super lightweight battle between undefeated knockout artist Ernesto “Tito” Mercado (15-0, 14 KOs) of Pomona, CA, and Hector Edgardo “Pajarito” Sarmiento (21-2, 14 KOs) from Cordoba, Argentina, as well as an eight-round women’s super-lightweight battle where WBO #6 and IBF #4 ranked Super Lightweight Samantha Worthington (8-0, 6 KOs) will put her undefeated record on the line against Budapest, Hungary’s Edina Kiss (16-20, 9 KOs).
In a six-round super welterweight battle, Dearborn Heights, Michigan’s Husam “Lion Heart” Al Mashhadi (9-1, 8 KOs) will take on Buenos Aires, Argentina’s Bruno Leonardo Romay (22-13, 19 KOs). In a six-round featherweight showdown, Pontiac, Michigan’s Cameran “The Problem” Pankey (9-1, 4 KOs) will take on Mooresville, North Carolina’s Shaileik Paisley (4-4, 3 KOs).
Also featured that night will be an eight-round female heavyweight fight between Houston, Texas’ undefeated Danielle Perkins (4-0, 2 KOs) and Scotland’s Christianne Fahey (2-1, 2 KOs), as well as an exciting all-Detroit six-round super welterweight scrap between once-beaten Gordie Russ II (6-1, 6 KOs) and once-beaten Josiah Shackleford (3-1, 2 KOs).
Rounding out the action will be Flint’s own Jaquan McElroy, who will make his professional boxing debut in a four-round welterweight bout against Travis Floyd of Douglasville, GA.
About Salita Promotions
Salita Promotions was founded in 2010 by Dmitriy Salita, a professional boxer and world-title challenger who saw the need for a promotional entity to feature boxing’s best young prospects and established contenders in North America and around the world. Viewers watching fighters on worldwide television networks including SHOWTIME, HBO, ESPN, Spike TV, Universal Sports Network, UFC Fight Pass, DAZN, ESPN+ and MSG have enjoyed Salita Promotions fight action in recent years. We pride ourselves on offering our fighters opportunities inside and outside the ring. Salita Promotions looks forward to continuing to grow and serve the needs of fight fans around the globe.
Check the Salita Promotions YOUTUBE CHANNEL for regular updates of the modern world’s greatest fighters, contenders and prospects in action.
About 313 Presents
313 Presents is Detroit’s premier live entertainment company. Inspired by the soul of Detroit, 313 Presents promotes and produces concerts, theatrical productions, sporting events and family shows at six world-class venues across southeast Michigan including Little Caesars Arena, the historic Fox Theatre featuring Proud Partner Comerica Bank, Comerica Park, Pine Knob Music Theatre Presented by Proud Partners United Wholesale Mortgage, Trinity Health and Ally, Meadow Brook Amphitheatre Presented by Proud Partner Oakland University Credit Union and Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre. Headquartered in The District Detroit, 313 Presents is a joint venture between Ilitch Sports + Entertainment and Pistons Sports & Entertainment. For additional information, visit 313Presents.com.
About DAZN Group
DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US and the UK. Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LaLiga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world – Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.
DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match through the NFL Game Pass International add-on subscription. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League, and a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F. DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans.
DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialize, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN.
DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to ground-breaking rights catalogue and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including Playstation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Apple TV and can find the app on their iPhone, iPad, and android mobile devices. DAZN is available as an Amazon Channel on Amazon Prime TV and can be viewed on Channel 429 on Sky in the UK and Ireland.
DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries. For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit?www.dazngroup.com.
