FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Claressa Shields chose to fight in her hometown, a once-powerful city that has taken a series of hits, over opportunities to be the headliner on a boxing card in New York, Las Vegas or Detroit.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-division champion is facing top-ranked contender Danielle Perkins for the undisputed heavyweight title on Sunday night in Flint, Michigan.

“This fight could have been anywhere in the world from the Barclays Center to T-Mobile and to the LCA,” Shields said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press. “We were like, ‘Either you want to fight at the Barclays Center or do you want to fight in Flint?’

“My dream is fight at the Barclay’s, but the occasion calls for me to want to bring it back home because of the history of the fight, the first women’s undisputed championship at heavyweight.”

Shields is putting the spotlight on Flint just as she did in the movie “The Fire Inside,” released in December.

The birthplace of General Motors, 90 miles north of Detroit, has been on an economic roller-coaster ride for more than a century as the automaker lifted the community, left it and later retooled for changing markets.

Flint switched water sources in 2014 and began drawing water from the Flint River while a regional pipeline from Lake Huron was being constructed. The river water was not treated to reduce corrosion, a disastrous decision that led to lead from old pipes flowing into homes, schools and businesses.

The city returned to the Detroit water supply 18 months later. State tests since 2016 show Flint’s water has consistently been under the federal action levels for lead and copper, though some skeptical residents still use filters or bottled water.

Flint’s population was down to about 100,000 residents in 2010, according to the Census Bureau, after losing about 20,000 people in a decade.

Mayor Sheldon Neeley said the city is making a comeback with water that is safe to drink and new jobs to help people pay bills.

Shields, he said, is a shining example of how resilient residents in the city have become.

“She really embodies the spirit of the city of Flint — coming from crisis to recovery,” Neely said.

He added: “And it’s great that she chose her hometown to be able to bring this great showcase here.”

A sellout crowd of about 6,000 is expected at Dort Financial Center, home of the Ontario Hockey League’s Flint Firebirds, to witness the fight. More will watch via streaming service DAZN.

The 29-year-old Shields is 15-0 and has heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight belts that are kept in a rolling suitcase that travels with her.

She is coming off her third career knockout against WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in July at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, where the floor was packed and the lower level was mostly full of her fans.

Perkins, a 42-year-old former St. John’s basketball player, has won all five of her bouts with two by knockout and suddenly has more people following her next fight. The 10-card will also include three other matchups involving women.

“I always have told Claressa that I do always appreciate everything that she’s done for boxing,” said Perkins, who is from Brooklyn, New York. “Her coming up to the heavyweight division is the best thing that could have ever happened to me in my entire life. No one at any point ever cared about this division until Claressa came up here.”

Claressa Shields made history earlier this month by defeating Danielle Perkins. ‘T-Rex’ not only became the first woman to claim the undisputed heavyweight championship but also the only female boxer to achieve undisputed status in three different weight classes. However, her triumph was soon overshadowed as her name was dragged through the mud.

Just the other day, boxing insider Rick Glaser suggested that Shields has failed a PED test following her victory over Perkins. “Claressa Shields has reputedly failed a drug test for her most recent fight, rumored to be a PED test,” Glaser wrote. However, contradicting this report, BALCO founder Victor Conte suggested Shields had actually tested positive for marijuana only through a swab test which can very well be a result of second-hand smoke.

This prompted Shields to hit back at Glaser with threats of a lawsuit on social media. “Yeah @RealRickGlaser1 you getting sued buddy,” Shields wrote. Regardless, Conte seems to be back with an update on the matter. “What many may fail to realize is that @Claressashields was hugging and kissing family members and lots of others congratulating her after the fight for about 30 minutes and JUST BEFORE the swab saliva test sample was collected,” he wrote.

“It now seems this activity may have been a source of exposure that caused her positive test for marijuana. The trace amount found in the saliva swab test was 3.4 ng/ml,” he continued. “Claressa has always been a clean athlete. A mouth saliva test for marijuana is not common in boxing or any other sport. The swab saliva test is primarily used for pre-employment screening and law enforcement. Urine is the sample used for marijuana testing in Olympic sport and for reasons likely involving fewer possible sources of contamination.”

“There are many anti-doping entities including the Nevada commission and the UFC that do not even test for marijuana because it is not considered to be a PED. My questions are as follows. Why would a doping control officer possibly watch an athlete hugging and kissing people for thirty minutes and then ask them to collect a mouth swab sample? Is it feasable that direct observation of so many possible sources of contamination is part of a standard specimen collection protocol?”

Despite the marijuana fiasco, Shields is already looking ahead to her next fight.

Claressa Shields is eyeing the Savannah Marshall rematch

Shields, who previously defeated Savannah Marshall in an undisputed middleweight title fight, is ready to face her rival once again in a new division. “We’ve had general discussions over the past several months and have expressed our interest in making the rematch happen,” said Shields’ promoter, Dmitry Salita.

He believes Shields’ power at heavyweight would be the difference this time. “I believe she will stop Savannah with the power she possesses at heavyweight.” Salita insists the fight should take place outside of the UK. “The fight would need to take place in the US or a neutral location,” he stated. For Shields, legacy is key. “Claressa’s drive for legacy is undeniable,” Salita added, comparing her influence to Muhammad Ali’s in the sport.

That said, it appears even though Claressa Shields has tested positive for marijuana, Victor Conte doesn’t think it’s a big deal. He also seems to have come up with a wild theory on how Shields tested positive for marijuana. What do you think of Conte’s take?

Boxing superstar Claressa Shields’ MMA career might be coming to an abrupt end just three fights into her PFL tenure.

Claressa Shields is arguably one of the greatest boxers, male or female, to compete in the ring in the sport’s decorated history. After earning a slew of world championship belts, Shields opted to leap into MMA, which drew significant hype from fans, fighters, and pundits.

Shields appeared to live up to the hype when she finished Brittney Elkin in come-from-behind fashion during her 2021 PFL and professional MMA debut. Talks of a potential fight between then-PFL superstars Kayla Harrison and Shields began to surface, and the debate of who would get the better of the other in the cage ramped up.

But Shields faced her first significant case of adversity in MMA in her following fight against Abigail Montes at the 2021 PFL World Championship. She lost to Montes by split decision and struggled mightily with her ground game.

After bouncing back against Kelsey DeSantis last February, Shields seemed intrigued at potentially getting more activity in MMA over boxing. But her recent remarks potentially point to a sharp pivot from that stance.

Claressa Shields hints at retiring from MMA after 2-1 run in PFL

During a recent media scrum with FightHype and other outlets, Shields addressed what’s next for her in MMA and provided an empty response.

“I don’t know about MMA, I did everything I wanted to do all over there,” Shields said. “I went over there, won two fights, lost a split [decision], there’s not enough time in the day for me to train for MMA…

“Not enough time to train to become a PFL world champion.”

Shields’ honesty provides some clarity on her immediate MMA future. It’s a 180-degree turn from Shields’ faceoff with former boxing foe Savannah Marshall following Marshall’s MMA debut last June at PFL Europe 2.

After Marshall defeated Mirela Vargas in her professional MMA and PFL debut, Shields and Marshall seemed destined for a crossover rematch of their 2022 boxing fight. Shields defeated Marshall in the boxing ring by unanimous decision to hand the UK star her first professional loss.

Claressa Shields has won two boxing fights since her last PFL appearance

Since Shields’ most recent MMA win over DeSantis, she’s competed twice in the boxing ring. She knocked out Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse and outpointed Danielle Perkins to retain her female heavyweight titles since her PFL vs. Bellator showcase bout.

Shields failed a drug test after her most recent heavyweight boxing win over Perkins earlier this month, testing positive for marijuana. Skeptics initially thought Shields tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug amidst accusations of using them throughout her career.

Shields has gone back and forth with MMA legend Cris Cyborg in recent months over a potential crossover fight. After their feud reached a boiling point, Shields refused to take a potential MMA bout against Cyborg to settle their differences.

In the meantime, Shields is focused on getting her next boxing match set, a timeframe dependent on what her punishment will be for the failed test. For now, MMA is one of the furthest things from Shields’ present mind.

Shields is coming out swinging after a Michigan athletic commission-administered drug test came back positive, reportedly for trace amounts of marijuana.

Did the “G.W.O.A.T.” take a toke leading up to her one-sided beatdown of Danielle Perkins earlier this month (Feb. 2, 2025) inside Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan?

That’s what Michigan’s Unarmed Combat Commission is alleging after a pre-fight drug test returned positive for marijuana.

Claressa Shields became the undisputed Heavyweight champion two weeks ago, adding the IFB, WBO and WBA titles to her collection of WBC and WBF belts. Heavyweight is the third weight class she has unified during her impressive career. The toughest challenge is finding worthy opponents at higher weight classes.

Perkins was 42 years old and undefeated (5-0) before taking a pretty brutal beating at the hands of “T-Rex.”

Now, Shields’ next battle may be with a state athletic commission as a drug test has reportedly come back positive for marijuana. Indeed, late last night (Thurs., Feb. 13, 2025) it was reported that Shields had failed a pre-fight drug test.

Soon after, controversial drug testing expert, Victor Conte, came out with a full defense of Shields.

“IMORTANT NOTICE TO BOXING: Claressa Shields did not test positive for a PED after her recent fight in Michigan,” Conte wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Claressa had not smoked marijuana, however, the commission did a mouth swab test after the fight.”

Conte refused to say Shields “tested positive” for marijuana, proceeding to rip apart the Michigan commission’s marijuana testing protocols.

“There seems to be a number of issues that exist with the Michigan testing procedure,” he continued. “Urine is the normal sample used to test for marijuana. Most credible anti-doping entities do not consider marijuana to be a PED. VADA found no PEDs in Claressa’s blood and urine samples.

“The Nevada commission, the UFC and other commissions do not consider marijuana a PED,” Conte continued. “The amount found in her mouth swab was 3.4 ng/ml or parts per billion. This is an ultra-trace amount that likely would have come from second-hand smoke in the arena.

“There were also other irregularities that occurred in the testing procedure,” Conte concluded. “The world of boxing needs to clearly understand that Claressa is a clean boxer and always has been. More information about this rather unusual case will become available soon.”

Shields added her own comments, declaring “NICE TRY HATERS! DON’T Ever try and put no bulls—t on me. CLEAN ATHLETES WIN.

“When the hate don’t work they start telling lies,” she added.

Shields even went so far as to suggest she’d sue the reporter who announced the drug test failure because they said she tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug (PED).

And marijuana isn’t a PED.

It’s an unfortunate blemish that “The G.W.O.A.T.” will have to fight to clear from her record. With Conte in her corner aggressively pushing back against this positive test, she’s already come out swinging.