Claressa Shields vs Lani Daniels Preview July 26th, 2025
Undefeated Claressa Shields of Flint, Michigan will be defending her undisputed heavyweight crown this Saturday, July 26th as she defends all of her belts for the first time against Lani Daniels of New Zealand. The 10-round bout from Detroit, Michigan can be seen live on DAZN. Shields stopped Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in the second round for the WBC and WBF Titles as well as the vacant WBO Light Heavyweight Belt a year ago and then added the vacant WBO and WBF Heavyweight Belts in February via a unanimous decision over Danielle Perkins after dropping her in the 10th round. Shields is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and three-weight world champion as a pro. Daniels last saw action in September when she beat Bolatito Oluwole by unanimous decision to retain her IBF Light Heavyweight Belt.
Shields vs Daniels Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Lani Daniels +1100
- Claressa Shields -2500
My Pick
The 30-year-old Shields carries around a perfect record of 16-0 with 3 Ko’s to her name for a current knockout ratio of just 14.3 per cent. She’s boxed 133 rounds since making her pro debut in 2017 after reportedly going 77-1 as an amateur. Shields won gold at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics as a middleweight and as a pro she holds the record for becoming a two and three-weight world champion in the fewest professional contests and is the only boxer in history to hold four major world titles (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) at the same time in two different weight classes.
As an amateur, she also won gold at the 2014 and 2016 World championships as well as the 2015 Pan American Games, where she took it as a light heavyweight. Since turning pro, she became the undisputed middleweight champion in 2019 by beating Christina Hammer and the undisputed light-middleweight champion two years later by beating Marie Eve Dicaire. From 2017 to 2018 she was also the unified IBF and WBC Super Middleweight Champion. Shields stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68-inch reach. She’s no knockout artist though as her current knockout ratio stands at 18.7 per cent.
Daniels is 37 years old and enters the ring with a mark of 11-2-2 with 1 Ko and has boxed just 120 rounds since making her pro debut in 2017. She began boxing as a way to lose weight and became a two-time New Zealand amateur champion with titles in 2014 and 2015. She’s the first New Zealand-born boxer of Maori descent to win world titles in two different weight divisions and also works as a mental health nurse. Power is also lacking from Daniels’ arsenal as she has just one win by stoppage, which came in the third round in 2023 over Razel Mohammed.
She measures just over 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 67-inch reach so gives up 1.5-inches in height and an inch in reach to Shields. Daniels’ first defeat came at the hands of Geovana Peres by 10-round split decision in 2018 to lose the New Zealand Light Heavyweight Belt which she won four months earlier by unanimous decision over Trish Vaka. Peres and Daniels fought a rematch in 2019 for the vacant WBO Light Heavyweight Title with Daniels losing again, this time by unanimous decision.
Daniels had a shot at the vacant New Zealand Middleweight Belt in August and October of 2019, but both fights against Tessa Tualevao ended in eight-round draws. She then captured the vacant Australasian Heavyweight Title in 2023 with a unanimous decision over Sequita Hemingway and added the vacant IBF Heavyweight Crown the same year via unanimous decision over Alrie Meleisea and has defended it three times. Just seven of her 15 opponents entered the ring with a winning record.
Prediction…
Shields is seven years younger than Daniels with a wealth of amateur and pro experience against stiffer opposition. Neither of them really possess much in the way of power and Shields has significantly superior boxing skills. I expect her to put them to good use this weekend and defend her belts with relative ease.
Shields is in her prime with better skills.
Play: Shields -2500 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Claressa Shields betting • Lani Daniels betting