DETROIT – These longtime friends were often unfriendly with each other during the buildup to their rematch, as they traded barbs on social media and in interviews for some time before they would trade blows in the ring. It wasn’t pretend, either, not a put on for the sake of trying to sell the fight.
Now that the rematch between Claressa Shields and Franchon Crews-Dezurn is over, with Shields winning by shutout, they are back at peace with each other. Shields and Crews-Dezurn embraced immediately after their 10 hard rounds, something we see even between boxers who never liked each other before.
And after that, they spoke with adoration and appreciation during the post-fight press conference, sounding as if they are on course to resuming a friendship that dates back to when they were both amateur boxers.
While not at all unexpected, it was absolutely a pleasant turn of events after their weigh-in took, well, an unpleasant turn.
A standard photo-op confrontation – Crews-Dezurn putting her forehead against Shields’ forehead, Shields pushing Crews-Dezurn away – turned into a brief melee between their camp members, left Crews-Dezurn with a swollen ankle and knee, and left uncertainty about whether the fight might be called off.
“What happened at the weigh-in I feel like was something that was out of both of our control, and neither one of us wanted that to happen,” Shields said. “When I pushed her, she laughed because, well, even though I pushed her, like, it’s boxing, they do that all the time.
“But I think that what happened after that [...] the brawl or whatever, we didn’t want that to happen. I didn’t want it to happen to her, her team, and the same thing up on my end. And I’m happy that she was still able to come out here today and fight and put on the great fight that she did.”
Their history dates back long before they faced each other in their shared professional debut in 2016. They were friends and rivals who had three amateur bouts against each other, all won by Shields. And they continued to support each other in the years since they turned pro.
“I've been knowing Franchon since I was 15. And we’ve been fighting since I was 17. I’m 30 now. So this is 13 years of fighting each other. This has been a long time,” Shields said. “We done share the ring together in sparring. I done help her get ready for fights. She done help me get ready for fights. She done cheer for me. I done cheer for her. And I think that this is the fight that women’s boxing needed, especially up at the heavyweight division.”
Shields would supplant Crews-Dezurn as the top American amateur in their weight class – and went on to the Olympics, a dream Crews-Dezurn was therefore never able to achieve. Despite that, Crews-Dezurn admires what Shields has done since they first met.
“She’s done such amazing things,” Crews-Dezurn said. “Like, it’s so crazy cause we can go at it like cats and dogs. But when I see her, I just still see that young woman with so much light in her eyes and so many dreams.
“She inspires me. She came in at a time where I was dominant and shook the table up. And like she said, the reason she always wants to be great and push herself [...] when I see her, I’m like, ‘OK, that’s a point I can get to,’ or ‘That’s somebody who can keep fire up under me.’ And it’s never a jealousy thing. I'm proud of her. I’m going to make that very clear: I’m not jealous of her. I want to see her do good at all times. It inspires me.”
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
