Claressa Shields to open $8m deal with Detroit rematch against Crews-Dezurn
Claressa Shields will defend her undisputed heavyweight championship in Detroit on 22 February, returning home for a rematch with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in her first fight since signing a landmark $8m promotional deal.The bout will headline a Dazn card at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the NBA’s Pistons and NHL’s Red Wings where Shields attracted a near-sellout crowd for her most recent fight last July.Shields (17-0, 3 KO) and Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KO) first met nearly a decade ago when they made their professional debuts against each other on the undercard of Andre Ward’s victory over Sergey Kovalev in 2016.Shields won a four-round unanimous decision that night in Las Vegas, a moment she still sees as formative.“I had just come off winning two Olympic gold medals, fresh out of the amateurs, and finding an opponent was tough,” she said in a press release announcing the fight.
“Franchon stepped in,I’ve grown a lot since that first victory, but me and Franchon have unfinished business that needs to be settled,”The Michigan-born star and double Olympic champion returns to action for the first time since reuniting with Salita Promotions and adding Wynn Records as a co-promotional partner,She said fighting again in her home state carries its own pressure,“Selling out Little Caesars Arena was a dream, and my fans made that come true,” she said.
“Fighting in Michigan motivates me, and it also puts pressure on me because I never want to fail them.”Crews-Dezurn, who went on to become an undisputed champion at super-middleweight in 2022 before losing it to Britain’s Savannah Marshall, will move up to heavyweight for the rematch.She said the meeting comes at the right moment for both fighters.“I’ve been waiting and working a long time for this moment,” she said.“This time as established champions with great legacies.
I’m daring to be even greater by going up in weight, strutting into hell so I can create my heaven.”Shields, who said she is fully healthy after what she described as injury-affected performances in recent outings, said she plans to close the rivalry decisively.“I won a unanimous decision the first time, but come February 22, I don’t have those same plans.I plan on putting Franchon Crews on her back and leaving with the KO.Franchon is elite, but I am super elite.
”Promoter Dmitriy Salita said the rematch represents both fighters’ growth since their shared debut on the Ward v Kovalev card.“Nearly a decade ago, Claressa and Franchon stepped into the ring as two Olympians making their professional debuts,” he said.“Since then, both have risen to become world champions and global forces in women’s boxing.”Shields’ return comes months after she chose to remain with the promoter who guided her from her debut onward, finalizing a minimum-guaranteed $8m multi-fight agreement with Salita Promotions in partnership with Wynn Records.The deal followed a brief spell in which Shields explored free agency after her title defense against Lani Daniels in July.
She ultimately opted to stay, saying the new arrangement offered the scale and visibility she has long pushed for in women’s boxing and aligned with her broader ambitions outside the ring.The partnership with Wynn Records – a music-focused imprint that counts several artists on its roster and marks Shields as its first athlete – is designed to blend boxing with cultural and entertainment projects.Salita called Shields “one of the defining athletes of her generation” when the pact was announced and said the collaboration aims to create opportunities that traditional promotional models do not.Shields, who had fielded interest from multiple suitors and even pursued a high-profile, unsuccessful-to-date overture to lure Laila Ali out of retirement, said the new deal reflects her intent to continue reshaping the economics and expectations surrounding women’s boxing.
Stephen Colbert on Pete Hegseth’s Venezuela scandal: ‘Frantically pointing the finger’
Late-night hosts talked Donald Trump’s renaming of the Institute of Peace, Pete Hegseth’s ongoing Venezuela scandal and a new batch of photos from Epstein Island.Stephen Colbert opened Thursday’s Late Show with a note about the president’s meeting with leaders from the auto industry, where announced that he would do away with the guidances enacted by Joe Biden to make more electric cars. “This is a Green New Stand,” said Trump in the Oval Office. “And people were paying too much for a car that didn’t work as well … All of the nonsense is going to be taken out of the cars.”“All you need in a car is the basics, folks,” said Colbert in his Trump voice
Barbican revamp to give ‘bewildering’ arts centre a new lease of life
Project will make the famously confusing London landmark easier to navigate and more accessible“Everything leaks,” says Philippa Simpson, the director of buildings and renewal at the Barbican, who is standing outside the venue’s lakeside area and inspecting the tired-looking tiles beneath her feet.Water seeps through the cracks into the building below and serves as a reminder of the job facing Simpson and the team who are overhauling the 43-year-old landmark.The first phase of the project will cost £231m, and Simpson – who did a similar, if less daunting, job for the Young V&A in east London – hopes it will be finished in time for the 50th anniversary in 2032. The overall bill is estimated to be £451m.A mammoth task awaits her
A minimalist statement or just Pantonedeaf? ‘Cloud dancer’ shade of white named Pantone’s 2026 colour of the year
Hi, Emma! I’m so pumped to find out what colour 2026 is going to be. Fill me in!Brace yourself, Nick. Every year since 1999 Pantone chooses a colour for the year, a representation of the zeitgeist – from how we’re feeling to what we’re wearing, how we’re styling our homes and even our eyebrows. Last year’s was the darker shade of beige “mocha mousse”, the year before that was the soft, warm “peach fuzz”.This year’s pick is even more baffling
Jimmy Kimmel on Pete Hegseth, ‘our secretary of war crimes’
Late-night hosts tore into Pete Hegseth’s Venezuelan boat blame game, Donald Trump’s cabinet meeting naps and the annual Spotify Wrapped lists.Jimmy Kimmel opened his Wednesday-evening monologue with an acknowledgement of a yearly tradition: the annual Spotify Wrapped list, documenting users’ listening habits for the year.“This Spotify, they really have it figured out,” he said. “They spy on you all year. It’s what they do
Jimmy Kimmel on the Trump administration: ‘They have better-quality cabinets at Ikea’
Late-night hosts tore into Donald Trump’s five-hour Truth Social posting spree and his inability to stay awake during cabinet meetings.Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time in returning to his favorite target – Donald Trump – on Tuesday evening. “I know I’ve said this before, but for real this time: he went completely off the rails last night,” the host began. “The man who is allegedly running the country banged out an onslaught of posts and reposts in a furious social media blitzkrieg that started at 7.09pm, went nonstop until almost midnight
Norman conquest coin hoard to go on show in Bath before permanent display
The coins were buried in a valley in the English West Country almost 1,000 years ago at a time of huge political and social turmoil.A millennium on, plans have been announced to bring the Chew Valley Hoard, 2,584 silver coins hidden shortly after the Norman conquest, back to the south-west of England.The feelgood story of how the coins, worth more than £4m, were found by a band of metal detectorists will be told but visitors will also be encouraged to reflect on how the world continues to be gripped by worries about conflict, the actions of the powerful and money.Sam Astill, the chief executive of South West Heritage Trust, which acquired the hoard for the nation last year, said the idea was not just about showing off the coins and telling their history.He said: “There will also be a conversation about turning points, turning points in history or in people’s lives
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