Shields beats Crews-Dezurn to retain title

Claressa Shields defended her undisputed heavyweight crown by beating fellow American Franchon Crews-Dezurn by unanimous points decision at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

In her first outing of an $8m (£6.1m) multi-fight deal, Shields was a 100-90 victor on the scorecards of all three judges as she retained her WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC titles.

The 30-year-old is unbeaten in 18 professional outings following the 10-round bout, which included plenty of fiery exchanges between Shields and 38-yer-old Crews-Dezurn.

"I felt like I had to take my time. Franchon hits hard and she's tough," said Shields.