Claressa Shields returns to face Maricela Cornejo

FIGHT WEEK

Claressa Shields, the undisputed queen of boxing, returns to the ring against Maricela Cornejo on Saturday night in Detroit.

CLARESSA SHEET (13-0, 2 KOS)
WITH. MARICELA CORNEJO (first6-56 KOS)

• Day: Saturday, June 3
• Time: 9pm ET / 6pm Pacific Time (main event follows)
• Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
• television/stream: DAZN
• Assignment: Middleweight (160 pounds)
• threatened: Shields’ undisputed championship
• the odds: Favorite Shield 34-1 (average of many stores)
• Also on the card: Ardreal Holmes vs. Wendy Toussaint, junior middleweight
• Guess: Shield UD
• Background: The boxing queen returns to the ring after her arguably most important victory, a unanimous decision through the only woman to beat her – Savannah Marshall – last October. She was scheduled to play Hanna Gabriels on Saturday but Gabriels was withdrawn after she tested positive for a banned substance. Cornejo agreed to join on Thursday, even though she’s been on Shields’ wish list for some time. Shields is considered by many to be the best female heavyweight boxer, especially after rival Katie Taylor. lost to Chantelle Cameron on May 20. The only flaw in her record is the lack of knockouts, which is something Michigander, 28, said she has been working out in the gym. Cornejo is a 36-year-old who lives and trains in Los Angeles. The WBO No. 1 contender lost decisively in three title challenges, once to 160-pound Kali Reis and twice to 168-pound champion Franchon Crews Dezurn. Cornejo has won three games in a row since losing a decisive match to Alma Ibarra in March 2021. She has never stopped.

ERIK BAZINYAN (29-0, 21 KOS)
WITH. JOSE DE JESUS ​​MACIAS (28-11-4, 14 KOS)

• Day: Thursday, June 1
• Time: 9pm ET / 6pm Pacific Time (main event follows)
• Where: Casino Montréal, Montréal
• television/stream: GAME+
• Assignment: Middleweight (160 pounds)
• threatened: No main title
• Pound–for-pounds: Do not have
• the odds: ARE NOT
• Also on the card: Steve Claggett vs Alberto Machado, junior weight class
• Guess: University of Bazinyan
• Background: Bazinyan is a 28-year-old former amateur star – he claims to have lost only once in unpaid ratings – from Armenia who currently lives and trains in Montreal. He is ranked by all four major sanctioning bodies (three of them 2nd) but has yet to claim a major title, although he has beaten some solid opponents. That includes decisions about the brash Marcelo Coceres last June and the tactful Alantez Fox in February. Unranked Macias are not a step in the opposite direction. The 31-year-old journeyman from Mexico is tough but he has been outclassed in the face of next-level opponents, including decisive defeats to Erickson Lubin and Giovani Santillan. He’s about to get over a one-sided defeat to 168-pound prospect Pavel Silyagin last July.