Claressa Shields will take on Hanna Gabriels on June 3 for the middleweight title.
The bout will take place from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, airing live on DAZN.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Shields said. “Born and raised in Flint, you know I’ve come to many games here to watch the Pistons play. Me and my grandmother watched the Pistons play on TV when they won the championship and now to actually be here fighting in front of all these fans…This was unheard of in women’s boxing when I turned pro.
“I’m fighting here in Detroit in front of all my family and all my friends. Hanna Gabriels is in a real heap of trouble come June 3. Y’all want to be there because this is the fight that will solidify what I’ve been saying, that there’s no girl in this world who can get in the ring with me and take me. I’m a problem.”
The only two-division undisputed champion in the four-belt era, Shields will continue to make history at the home of the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings.
The Flint, Michigan native will be rematching Gabriels after originally facing her in 2018. In their previous fight, Gabriels put Shields on the canvas in round one with a vicious right uppercut-left hook combination. It remains the only time Shields has ever been knocked down as a professional or amateur.
“I took on the biggest challenges when I turned pro and Hanna Gabriels was one of my biggest challenges,” Shields said. “Back then, I had two belts and I was 5-0. Hanna Gabriels was 18-1 and the one girl that beat her, she came back and beat her. So, we knew Hannah Gabriels was a dog.
“The knockdown pissed me off because it was a flash knockdown. After the fight I was very upset and very frustrated and I said ‘I want to fight her some more.’ I wanted to do the rematch immediately.”
Although she recovered to win an exciting unanimous decision, Shields will look for an emphatic ending to their rivalry on June 3.
