Claressa Shields to fight late replacement Maricela Cornejo in Detroit after Hanna Gabriels is removed from card
Claressa Shields will now face Maricela Cornejo for her marquee homecoming fight in Detroit, Michigan next month.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist and women’s middleweight champion is now scheduled to face the top-ranked contender on June 3 at Little Caesars Arena.
Shields was originally scheduled to take on Hanna Gabriels, before the Costa Rican was removed from the card on Thursday due to results from a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association test earlier this month.
Watch highlights of the epic between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall in a fight-of-the-year contender!
Gabriels (21-2-1, 12 KOs) floored Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) for the first time in his career when the pair met back in 2018, the latter eventually emerging victorious by unanimous decision at the Masonic Temple in Detroit .
The 36-year-old Cornejo, who is from Prosser, Washington, is ranked No 1 among contenders in the 160-pound division after winning three straight fights that improved her record to 16-5 with six knockouts.
“I told my team to get me the best,” the 28-year-old Shields said.
Shields will fight for the first time since settling her long-term rivalry with Savannah Marshall in an unanimous decision victory as the main event of the first televised all-female card in UK history in October.
