Claressa Shields is temporarily leaving the heavyweight division and will challenge for the WBC and WBA middleweight titles in August.
Claressa Shields has announced the next step in her extraordinary career. The American will return to the middleweight division on August 15 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, where she will face WBC and WBA world champion Kaye Scott.
For Shields, this fight marks her first return to the 72.6-kilogram weight class since June 2023. The 31-year-old currently holds several heavyweight titles and is now aiming to unify all the major belts in the middleweight division as well. At the same time, she will become the first female boxer ever to headline a fight card at the State Farm Arena, which seats nearly 17,000 spectators. “At this point in my career, it’s all about my legacy,” Shields explained. “Every fight now serves to push boundaries—for me, for women’s boxing, and for the next generation.”
She’ll be facing Kaye Scott, a world champion who won her titles just last December. Although the 42-year-old Australian enters the ring holding the WBC and WBA belts, she goes into the fight as a clear underdog against the undefeated Shields. The two-time Olympic champion made it clear that she deliberately seeks out the biggest challenges. “Kaye Scott is a champion, and I respect her achievements. But to become the undisputed middleweight world champion again, you have to beat the best. That’s always been my mindset. I’m not looking for easy fights—I’m looking for meaningful ones.”
If Shields lives up to her status as the favorite, another mega-fight could follow as early as the end of the year. There has been speculation for months about a possible bout with welterweight world champion Lauren Price. For now, however, the focus is on Atlanta, where Shields hopes to add another chapter to her impressive collection of titles.
Text by Robin Josten