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Claressa Shields joined Roy Jones Jr. in a remarkable piece of boxing history after dropping back down from heavyweight to stop unified middleweight champion Kaye Scott in six rounds at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Shields entered the contest as the undisputed heavyweight champion but returned to middleweight to challenge Scott for the WBC and WBA titles. Her victory made Shields only the second heavyweight titleholder in more than 120 years to subsequently win or regain a championship in a lower weight division, according to the event organizers. The other was Jones, who famously moved up from light heavyweight to defeat John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title in 2003 before returning to light heavyweight and regaining championship gold later that year. Shields achieved her own version of the feat by moving significantly further down the divisions. Claressa Shields Stops Kaye Scott More than 16,000 fans attended Shields’ Atlanta debut, which became the first women’s boxing event to headline State Farm Arena. Shields began taking control early, with damage developing over Scott’s left eye following an exchange in the second round. The defending champion enjoyed some success in the fifth, forcing Shields against the ropes before the American fought her way back to the center of the ring. Shields then stepped up the pressure dramatically in the sixth. A powerful left hook staggered Scott before Shields followed with an overhand right that sent the Australian tumbling backward into the ropes. Scott beat the count but remained unsteady, prompting her corner to throw in the towel at 1:38 of the round. Fourth Career Knockout Shields improved to 19-0 with four knockouts and added Scott’s WBC and WBA middleweight titles to an already unprecedented collection of achievements across the divisions. “What a night! I still can’t believe all of the fans who showed up to make this a sold-out show here at State Farm Arena,” Shields said. “I know I made it look easy, but Kaye Scott had power behind those punches. She’s a hell of an opponent. I felt sharp going into this fight, I had a great camp and it showed tonight. “I listened to my corner, stayed patient and—we all saw what happened!” With Usher among the celebrities watching ringside alongside Floyd Mayweather, Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson, Shields added: “I can’t believe I had a knockout in front of Usher!” Scott: I Hadn’t Been Hit That Hard Scott admitted afterward that Shields possessed a combination of speed and power she had never previously encountered. “The right hand landed pretty hard,” Scott said. “She warned me about it. I knew it was coming, but I hadn’t been hit like that before with a right hand that hard before. “My legs were gone and I couldn’t recover. I tried everything, but she was just too good. I think it was her speed and power.” Scott also clarified that the swelling around her eye was caused by a clash of heads rather than the decisive sixth-round attack. “My jaw is fine,” she said. “We had a clash of heads, I think in the second, that caused this big welt.” Shields Joins Roy Jones Jr. The victory adds another unusual distinction to Shields’ career. The circumstances are different, but more than a century of heavyweight championship history separates Jones and Shields from everybody else to have accomplished the heavyweight-to-lower-division feat. For Shields, the sixth-round stoppage also delivered something increasingly difficult to add to her resume: an achievement with almost no historical precedent. Shields vs Scott Undercard Results Undefeated middleweight Troy Isley improved to 17-0 with a unanimous decision over Joe Hicks. The judges scored the ten-round contest 97-92 and 96-93 twice despite Isley having a point deducted for a kidney shot in the fifth. Bernice Ferreira captured the WBC super featherweight title after defending champion Caroline Veyre was disqualified for repeated holding at 1:04 of the eighth round. Veyre had previously lost points for holding in the fourth and seventh rounds. Ashleyann Lozada defeated Paulette Cuesta by unanimous decision over ten rounds, while light heavyweight Atif Oberlton shut out experienced Roamer Alexis Angulo 100-90 on all three scorecards. Da’Vella Smith stopped Hakim Lopez at 1:44 of the sixth round, Shannel Butler defeated Marianela Ramirez by unanimous decision, and Jacquan McElroy earned a 58-56 verdict from all three judges against Alexander Thiel. About the Author Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.