By Olu Allen
This Saturday, February 5, boxing superstar Claressa Shields will defend her WBC/WBA/IBF Middleweight World Titles against unbeaten top-rated challenger Ema Kozin live from Cardiff, Wales in an event available in the U.S. and Canada on pay-per-view.
If Shields can emerge victorious over Kozin, who was recently named by ESPN as one of the “next generation of stars in women’s boxing”, she can set up a long-awaited showdown against WBO Middleweight World Champion Savannah Marshall. Marshall owns an amateur victory over Shields, the only boxing defeat she has ever suffered in the amateur or pro ranks
The 10-round Shields vs. Kozin fight will serve as the co-main event of the pay-per-view telecast that begins at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT.
In the main event, U.K. stars Chris Eubank Jr. and Liam Williams will settle their war of words in a 12-round middleweight showdown, with the winner putting themselves in prime position for a 160-pound title shot.
Next will be an eight-round attraction featuring Welsh welterweight Chris Jenkins returning to action against former unified 140-pound champion Julius Indongo.
Directly prior to Shields’ fight, 21-year-old prospect Caroline DuBois will make her pro debut after a stellar amateur career that included a World Youth Olympic Championship and four European Youth Championship titles. The younger sister of popular heavyweight Daniel DuBois, Caroline takes on Lithuania’s Vaida Masiokaite in a six-round lightweight bout.
