LAS VEGAS (AP) — Claressa Shields didn’t feel at her best, but her pro debut was a winning one anyway.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist won a decision Saturday over Franchon Crews in a four-round super middleweight fight, making the transition to the pros after the most successful amateur career for an American woman.
Shields came back from a slow first round to land the bigger punches in an entertaining fight on the undercard of the Sergey Kovalev–Andre Ward light heavyweight title fight on the Las Vegas Strip.
“It’s not what I wanted but to be called on, last minute, for a fight of this magnitude,” Shields said.