Claressa Shields vs Franchon Crews-Dezurn 2 Preview & Picks – Shields To Retain Heavyweight Crown On Points

leigh-copson
18 Feb 2026
Leigh Copson 18 Feb 2026
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  • Claressa Shields vs Franchon Crews-Dezurn 2 picks for Sunday, February 22
  • World title fight is taking place at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan
  • Preview, predictions, stats & form
Claressa Shields (Getty Images)

Claressa Shields vs Franchon Crews-Dezurn Preview & Picks

Claressa Shields is tipped to retain her undisputed heavyweight crown on points.

Shields is the smarter, more skilled, and faster fighter out of the two women, and all of this is likely to result in her out-pointing Franchon Crews-Dezurn for a second time.

  • Claressa Shields has a perfect 17-0 professional record
  • 14 of Claressa Shield’s 17 victories have all come via decision
  • Claressa Shields beat Franchon Crews-Dezurn in her professional debut
  • Franchon Crews-Dezurn’s 2 career defeats came on points

Head To Head

  • Claressa Shields won via unanimous decision when the pair fought in November 2016

Claressa Shields Form

Claressa Shields is a five-weight world champion and the current undisputed heavyweight champion of the world with a professional record of 17-0 (3 KOs).

Shields made her professional debut in November 2016 and wasted no time in becoming a world champion, knocking out Nikki Adler in the fifth round in August 2017 to become WBC and IBF super-middleweight champion.

The 29-year-old American made one successful defence of those titles, before moving down to middleweight where she beat Hanna Gabriels via decision to claim the WBA and IBF world titles.

Shields added the WBC title in her next fight, beating Hannah Rankin in points, and then successfully defended against Femke Hermans before becoming undisputed champion thanks to a decision win over Christina Hammer, which earned her the WBO and Ring Magazine belts.

She dropped down to light-middleweight following that victory and quickly claimed the WBC, WBO, IBF, WBA and Ring Magazine titles with unanimous decision wins over both Ivana Habazin and Marie-Eve Dicaire.

Shields then returned to middleweight to beat Ema Kozin and Savannah Marshall for the WBF and WBO titles, making her the undisputed queen of that division too.

Following a successful defence against Maricela Cornejo, she made the step up to heavyweight in 2024 and claimed the WBF and IBF titles with a second-round stoppage of Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.

Then, in 2025, she unified the entire division with a unanimous decision win over Danielle Perkins, before successfully retaining the undisputed crown with a points success against Lani Daniels.

Franchon Crews-Dezurn Form

Franchon Crews-Dezurn is a former undisputed world super-middleweight champion with a professional record of 10-2 (2 KOs) with 1 No Contest.

Crews-Dezurn made her professional debut in November 2016, where she lost a four-round fight with Claressa Shields on points.

She immediately rebounded from that loss though, winning three straight fights to earn a shot at the vacant WBC super-middleweight world title.

The 38-year-old American took her big chance, beating Maricela Cornejo via majority decision, and following a non-title victory over Kayla Williams, she claimed the WBO world title with a points success against Cornejo in their rematch.

Her next defence ended in disappointment as she dropped a split decision to Alexandre Jimenez, but the challenger later failed a drug test and the fight result was overturned to a No Contest.

Crews-Dezurn rebounded in her next outing, beating Ashleigh Curry on points, and having been reinstated as WBC and WBO champion, she added the WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine titles with a decision victory over Elin Cederroos.

Her reign as undisputed champion proved to be brief though, because in her first defence of that crown she dropped a majority decision to Savannah Marshall.

The American rebounded in her next fight to regain the WBC belt, beating Shadasia Green via unanimous decision, and after being awarded the WBA belt she successfully defended those championships with a majority decision success against Citlalli Ortiz.

Verdict

Claressa Shields has firmly established herself as one of the greatest female fighters of all-time.

She beat Franchon Crews-Dezurn when both women debuted, and she has only got better since then, so we expect another points victory for the champion.

Best Bet1: Shields by decision Method Of Victory @-454.55 at Stake.us - 6 Units
Shields by decision
Method Of Victory
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