What to Know
- Claressa Shields returns to the middleweight division as the challenger against Kaye Scott for her two middleweight titles.
- Scott vs Shields headlines a 15-fight card from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Saturday, August 15.
- The card airs on DAZN Boxing, with the main card getting underway at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.
It might seem like two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-division world champion Claressa Shields has run out of goals and challenges. She firmly disagrees.
“What motivates me is to just keep making history,” said Shields. Next up is becoming the first woman to headline a boxing card at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Saturday, August 15, something Shields admitted “is insane! What? Oh my God!” at Thursday’s final pre-fight news conference.
Shields (18-0, 3 KOs) moved from heavyweight back to her original weight division at middleweight to face unified WBC and WBA World Middleweight champion Kaye Scott of Sydney, Australia (5-1-1). Scott’s record includes wins over former world champion Desley Robinson and Olivia Curry.
Claressa Shields Proved Andre Dirrell Wrong
Shields said she had a conversation early in her career with former world champion Andre Dirrell about her goals. Dirrell dismissed them, telling her she would never fight on national television, never fight in a main event, and never earn a million-dollar purse. She has done all these things en route to becoming one of boxing’s biggest ticket sellers.
“He told me to retire three years ago. He said, ‘Retire. You done everything. Retire.’ He said, ‘You’re done.’ He said, “You beat everybody. You went across the country. You won belts. You made a million. Everything you wanted to do, you did it.’ I said, ‘I’m not retiring … I got some more money on the table,” explained Shields.
Now, after selling out the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on multiple occasions and signing an $8 million promotional contract with Salita Promotions and Wynn Records, Shields said she isn’t finished.
“When I watch my career, I’m like, ‘Yo, some of the stuff that’s happening, I know y’all be shocked, but I be in the back room like, ‘This is some crazy shit!’
“So that’s what motivates me to just keep breaking barriers and keep making it possible for the girls that come after me,” naming Caroline Dubois and new middleweight champion Tamm Thibeault. “These girls will be able to headline at these type of stadiums one day, and be able to do stuff that they say that we couldn’t do. That’s what motivates me right now,” said Shields.
Shields In Rare Role as Challenger to Kaye Scott
But Shields can’t afford to take her eyes off her current assignment, and she made it clear she is not taking Kaye Scott lightly. Shields said she put in a 12-week camp rather than her usual six weeks, working hard with sparring partner Maricela Cornejo, who she said “punched me up some” to ensure her punch resistance was still there at 160 pounds.
Scott won her unified titles on a December 20 Salita Promotions card in Detroit with a majority decision over Olivia Curry.
“I had a fair bit of tenacity in the ring, and just I don’t give up. I won’t give up. I know I’m going to be in for a battle, but I’m ready for it, and I think she’s been underestimating me a little bit. But we’ll see. I’m ready for everything that she comes at me with,” said Scott.
Shields said she feels like she’s 18 again, lean and strong. Making the weight was simple, but training was not. Turning to Scott, she addressed her directly.
“I trained for you. I watched you. I know you were good in the amateurs. I know you are more experienced. The girls in the amateurs, (the) majority of them, box better than the girls in the pros. So I don’t take your record of being 5-1-1 as a joke.
“I want you to understand that when God gives me an opportunity to perform on a big stage in Atlanta, it’s not really nothing against you. I just have to perform at a very high level to destroy you. I know that you worked hard. You’re strong. You’re big. So, I look forward to us fighting on Saturday,” said Shields, declaring she is prepared.
Kaye Scott: Bringing My Very Best
Scott said she would not bring less than her very best.
“All I can do is control the controllables. My sparring’s been on point, my conditioning’s been on point, my diet’s been on point, and my mindset’s on point. So this opportunity has arisen, and I’m just taking it with full force,” said Scott.
“She wouldn’t want to be against an opponent who doesn’t believe that she can do it, and I think I can create history and go out there and bring everything and make it a really challenging fight and bring those belts back home to Australia.”
Scott said after 15 years of experience training, traveling and fighting in the world’s highest level amateur competitions gives her a type of preparation well suited to her assignment on Saturday.
“You go through all the nerves and the traveling, and so I’m very much used to being up there and having to talk to media and do that kind of stuff. I feel like I’m probably in a better position than some of her other opponents have been to. It’s not new to me,” said Scott, who also pointed out that she’s fought alongside many successful amateur competitors who are now pros, “which normalizes things rather than putting them up on a pedestal so much, and that helps me mentally anyway.”
Claressa Shields: What She’s Waiting For
Shields is not discounting what Scott has to offer, but says she’s more than capable of meeting it.
“I know Kaye Scott is tough. I know she’s strong. I know that she believes in herself, which I love that. Yes, believe in yourself,” said Shields. “The moment you think I can beat you, I got you. So I ain’t got you yet, but inside the ring, when one of them shots catch her, she gonna say, ‘Ah, this bitch got me!’ That’s what I’m waiting for!” said Shields.
Proving people wrong has been more than enough motivation for Shields for a decade, and it’s not likely to fade on Saturday. While Scott should put up a sincere effort, she’s a significant underdog. All fans can hope for is the most competitive fight possible.
Scott vs Shields Undercard Lineup in Atlanta
The entire card features 15 fights for the truly hardcore fan, but the main card on DAZN features a four-fight lineup.
Middleweight Troy Isley of Alexandria, Virginia (16-0, 6 KOs) appears in his second fight under the Salita Promotions banner against Joseph Hicks of Grand Rapids, Michigan (12-1, 7 KOs). Isley and Hicks fought three times as amateurs, with Hicks ahead with two wins. Isley intends to even the score.
Isley is ranked in the top ten of a division crying out for new talent. Isley needs to seize the opportunity to shine and hopes his performance will show he’s ready for the title holders. “Hopefully, I get Carlos Adames, I get Erislandy Lara, and I get Denzel Bentley after this fight. That’s what I want, and that’s what I’m chasing,” said Isley.
Super lightweight contender Tito Mercado of Pomona, California (19-0, 18 KOs) will face a tough gatekeeper in Emmanuel Tagoe of Ghana (34-2, 16 KOs). Mercado and Tagoe were spicy with each other on Thursday. If it carries into the ring Saturday, we’ll see a fun fight on Saturday for as long as it lasts.
Ernesto Mercado and Emmanuel Tagoe go back and forth! 👀#ShieldsScott | Aug 15 | Watch only on DAZN ▪️ pic.twitter.com/0LSBk6fSDQ
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 13, 2026
WBC World Super Featherweight champion Caroline Veyre of Montreal (11-1) defends her title against Bernice Ferreira of Johannesburg, South Africa (11-0, 4 KOs) in the card’s second major title fight.
Also in action are undefeated middleweight Atif Oberlton of Philadelphia, WBA World Light Heavyweight champion Danielle Perkins of Houston, who had a spectacular knockout win over Che Kennelly to win the title in her last fight following a decision loss to Claressa Shields in 2025, and Puerto Rican prospect Ashleyanne Lozado, Puerto Rico’s first female Olympic boxer who has looked sharp in four pro fights to date.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
