World’s No. 1 Fighter At 168 Pounds Takes On No. 1 Fighter At 154 Pounds In Main Event Middleweight Bout

欣欣拳击: SPECIAL EDITION住在 10 P.M. AND/PT

From Masonic Temple In Detroit, 密歇根州。; 门票现已公开发售

纽约 (四月 24, 2018) – Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and unified women’s super middleweight Champion Claressa Shields will attempt to become a two-division world champion on Friday, 六月 22 live on SHOWTIME when she faces unified women’s 154-pound champion Hanna Gabriels for the vacant IBF and WBA Middleweight World Championships at Masonic Temple in Detroit, 我.

欣欣拳击: 特殊版电视广播从以下位置开始 10 P.M. AND/PT and features the No. 1 fighter at 168 磅面对否. 1 fighter at 154 磅，因为他们俩都试图在中量级比赛中首次成为冠军.

希尔兹 (5-0, 2 科斯), who grew up in nearby Flint, was the first American boxer in history – male or female – to win consecutive Olympic Gold Medals. The 23-year-old turned professional following the 2016 在她的第四场职业比赛中，奥运会成为了女子超级中量级世界冠军. Shields now begins her first camp with renowned trainer John David Jackson as she attempts to become a two-division champion.

“I can’t wait to get into the ring on 六月 22,”希尔兹说. “I love the fight against Hanna Gabriels – champion versus champion, exactly the kind of fight that I want every time to take women’s boxing to new heights. I’ve said one of my goals is to win world championships in three weight divisions. I’m proud to be super middleweight champion, 并 六月 22 I will add the middleweight championship to my accomplishments. I’m excited to be working with John David Jackson for the next step in my career as I look to conquer another division.”

Two-division champion Gabriels (18-1-1, 11 科斯) is the reigning WBA and WBO World Champion. The native of Costa Rica won her first world title at welterweight in 2009 and has since fought in an astounding 11 consecutive world title fights. The 35-year-old won her first belt in the 154-pound division in 2010 and became unified champion in 2016. 在她的最后一个回合, Gabriels avenged the only loss on her record, 一 2013 defeat to then-undefeated title challenger Oxandia Castillo. She looks to become a three-division world champion on 六月 22.

“I’m really excited and grateful to have the opportunity to showcase my skills against Claressa Shields on SHOWTIME,”加百列斯说. “This will be a great battle of two world champions, a great night for my country, and a great fight for women’s boxing. I only know one thing – the woman in front of me will lose. I take nothing away from Claressa’s accomplishments, 但 六月 22 she is facing a three-time world champion and I will take the ‘0’ in her record and prove I am the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”

“This main event is yet another example of SHOWTIME Boxing’s commitment to delivering the best fighters in the best matchups,”戈登·霍尔说, 欣欣拳击的执行制片人: 特别版本. “We have two unified champions, the top fighters in their respective divisions, facing off for a championship in a new weight class. Will Claressa Shields be as dominant as a middleweight? Can Hanna Gabriels shock the world and hand Claressa her first loss since she was an amateur in 2012? We’ll find out on 六月 22.”

欣欣拳击: 特别版本 (10 P.M. AND/PT) will also feature extensive highlights of unified women’s middleweight champion Christina Hammer (22-0, 10 科斯) as she defends her WBC & 她在美国的WBO冠军. debut against former world champion Tori Nelson (17-1-3, 2 科斯).

If both Shields and Hammer are victorious in their 160-pound bouts on 六月 22, they will meet in a fall blockbuster on SHOWTIME to determine the undisputed women’s middleweight world champion.

“I’m glad Christina Hammer will be fighting that night as well. After I beat champion Hanna Gabriels, I want to unify all the middleweight belts against Hammer,”希尔兹说. “I’ve never been so motivated. This will be a great year for women’s boxing. It’s our time!”

锤, 多特蒙德, 德国, has dominated the women’s middleweight division for nearly eight years, having won the WBO title at 160 pounds in 2010. The 27-year-old became unified champion in 2016 with a unanimous decision over WBC titlist Kali Reis and has made two defenses as unified champion. Hammer won the WBO title in 2010 in her eighth professional fight and has dominated the middleweight division since, losing just a handful of rounds in her reign as champion at 160 英镑. 锤, 他还专业模特，最近在纽约时装周上亮相, has campaigned mostly in Germany since turning professional in 2009.

“I have been training intensively for months for my first fight in the U.S.,” Hammer said. “I can’t wait to show my skills, desire and hunger to America and prove that I am THE middleweight champion of the world. While I have great respect for Tori Nelson, I promise I will defeat her in spectacular fashion on 六月 22 and send a message to Claressa Shields. It’s my time to shine!”

门票活动, 这是由的Salita促销推广, are available at Ticketmaster.com or at the Masonic Temple Box Office at (313) 832-7100. 贵宾票定价为 $300, 马戏团门票 $125, 和剩余的门票 $75, $50 和 $35.

“Women’s boxing will shine brightly on 六月 22 in Detroit as the best fight the best,“所述启动子德米特里Salita. “Claressa Shields, in just her sixth fight as a professional, is once again showing her willingness to take on all challenges when she competes for a second world title against one of the best female fighters in the sport. Hanna Gabriels is a long-reigning world champion and a national hero in Costa Rica. This fight and this card, which features four women’s world champions battling each other, is the definition of world-class boxing. 六月 22 will be their time to shine, live on SHOWTIME in Detroit.”