Boxing
Exclusive: Claressa Shields explains when her relationship with Franchon Crews-Dezurn took a twist
Shields vs. Crews-Dezurn 2 - Watch on DAZN TONIGHT
Friendships are meant to last forever. Unfortunately, some don't for one reason or another. But in the fight business, breakups occur for either business or personal reasons.
On the surface, it appears Claressa Shields (17-0, 3 KOs) and Franchon Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KOs) are nowhere near being on the same page anymore heading into their rematch tonight for the former's undisputed heavyweight titles from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, live and exclusively on DAZN.
Respect had always been the name of the game between the two back to their amateur days, where Shields won two Olympic gold medals, and Crews-Dezurn was a highly decorated amateur in her own right. They had their respective pro debuts against one another in November 2016, with Shields winning by unanimous decision. Shields and Crews-Dezurn were always highly complimentary of one another and would sometimes attend each other's fights, including the former being there at Madison Square Garden in April 2022 when the lattter bested Elin Cederroos to become a three-belt super middleweight champion.
Somewhere along the way, tension began to boil, and it spilled into the public, leading into tonight's buildup, as evidenced by the melee that occurred at Saturday's weigh-in.
Where did it all go wrong for Shields and Crews-Dezurn?
"I think that Franchon didn't realize how big I am now as far as my celebrity and my stardom," Shields said to DAZN News on Thursday. "And I think that when we announced the fight and she seen how my fans came at her and how everyone just already painted her to be the loser of the fight, I think that is what is causing her to do this. I think that she's also a fighter who has to build these things in her mind to where she's the underdog. Everybody's out to get her. Everyone's against her. That kind of helps her for the fight. I just keep telling her, 'I know that's what you're used to, but they're giving us both the same attention'.
"Wynn Records had a whole commercial made, not just with me but with her, too. We both got nice pictures online. I make sure that if anybody missay her name or anything, I correct them as far as her being tagged on social media, that was nothing but a simple phone call. No one's overlooking her, and then this whole mess about her code doesn't work, and it doesn't get her certain tickets. That's all bologna. The truth is all the good tickets are sold out. Now, since you just started promoting your HH Diva code, the seats that are left are the ones high up.
"I have a video recording where when I heard that, I said, what the hell? I wanted to make sure that nothing like that was being done. So I put in her code and seeing what tickets were available, and then I put in my code and seeing what tickets were available, and I said, 'We got the same damn tickets that's available because the place is damn near sold out'."
Far too often in fight sports, the promotion gets very intense. And when it's all over with a winner and a loser declared, the combatants embrace, and all is forgotten. To Shields, she isn't what will happen after the fight, but for it hasn't been personal, especially with someone she admires in Crews-Dezurn.
"It's not personal at all for me. It's all business," Shields explained. "Hopefully, like I said, with it being all business, I handle my business in camp. Like I said, I put myself through a lot in camp. I gave myself a plan four or five months out, and I said, 'This is what I'm going to do. These are my goals. And I was able to do that'.
"That's why my body even looks a little different. I'm way lower in weight than what I usually am. I'm just saying that it is not personal. How can I be personal with somebody like Franchon under somebody whom I really admire? It is business. We got to put the friendship and the history and everything to the side because if she beats me, her whole life changes. And then also my whole life changes. Everything about being the greatest woman of all time, being the greatest, eight million dollar deal, that doesn't go away. But now, it kind of devalues it. I have to keep fighting for what I have, and then in order to get more. It's just business, and I'm going to go out there and box."
3 fight nights, 1 unmissable weekend - only on DAZN
Watch three amazing fights this weekend - Feb 21-22 - exclusively on DAZN. It's Barrios vs. Garcia for the WBC welterweight title on PPV, with Wood vs. Warrington II, and Shields vs. Crews-Dezurn II on DAZN subscription. Get all three all included with DAZN Ultimate Tier.
