Claressa Shields vs. Ivana Habazin Set For October 5 On Showtime
Claressa Shields’ quest to become a three-division champion will have her returning home in her first pro bout at 154 pounds.
Showtime announced that Shields will face Ivana Habazin for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title on October 5. The fight will headline a Showtime broadcast from the Dort Federal Event Center In Flint, Michigan.
The fight was initially scheduled for August 17 but it was postponed due to Shields, the undisputed women’s middleweight champion, injuring her right knee in June.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist became boxing’s second-ever female undisputed WBA, WBO, WBC and IBF champion when she defeated Christina Hammer this past April in New Jersey. Shields, who also won titles at 168 pounds, will now look to become a three-division world champion with a win over Habazin. This will be Shields’ 10th pro bout and her seventh world title fight.
Habazin, a 29-year-old from Croatia, is looking to become a multi-weight world champion as well. Habazin once held the IBF welterweight title in 2014 but lost the belt in her first title defense later that year when she lost a 10-round decision to Cecilia Braekhus to crown the first-ever undisputed women’s champion.
Since then, Habazin would go on to challenge for the WBC junior middleweight title and even held the IBO middleweight title last year. This will be Habazin’s first fight in the United States after spending the majority of her career fighting in Croatia. Habazin has won her last five fights after a loss to Mikaela Lauren back in 2016.
