Claressa Shields injured, planned August return postponed

Claressa Shields has suffered what is being called a minor injury in training for her Aug. 17 return on Showtime, and the fight will be postponed and rescheduled for the fall.

Shields, 24, was set to face Ivana Habazin for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title. Shields (9-0, 2 KO) has already won titles at 168 and recently became undisputed champ at 160 with her April 13 win over Christina Hammer.

The fight was set to take place in Shields’ hometown of Flint, Michigan.

“There’s nothing I love to do more than boxing, and I train hard for all of my fights. It’s going to be tough for them to keep me out of the gym for a few weeks,” said Shields.

“But I will heal quickly and then go to training camp, so I can make history in front of all my fans in the fall. I can promise you this — I’ll be training harder than ever soon again, and I will provide a spectacular performance and make history for everyone in attendance and for the viewers on Showtime.”

Promoter Dmitriy Salita says he’s already working on the new date.

“Claressa will bounce back quickly,” said Salita. “Unfortunately, training injuries are part of the sport. A great champion like her will take it in stride and move forward to the new fight date we are currently working to finalize. The fight will be rescheduled for the fall and we will announce the new date shortly.”