Claressa Shields’ Next Match Will Make Premium Television History.

Claressa Shields

From her Olympic wins to a her debut victory, boxer Claressa Shields’ career has been full of milestones.

Shields will make history once again tonight when she faces Szilvia “Sunset” Szabados at the MGM Grand Detroit. The match will be the first time women’s boxing will take center stage on premium cable, when it airs on Showtime at 10 ET/PT.

“I started boxing at age 11 and all I really wanted was an opportunity. This is one of those big opportunities,” Shields said at the final news conference on Wednesday. “This is the first time that a woman has been the main event on Showtime, and I’m not coming to make women look bad when I get in there on [Friday].”

While Szabados has put in significantly more rounds than she has, Shields is confident.

“Her having [134] professional rounds doesn’t mean anything to me. Her being 15-8 with 6 KOs doesn’t scare me either, but I am glad she took the fight and didn’t pull out,” Shields said. “She’s a challenge and, on paper, she’s not supposed to be someone that I can just walk through. But I’ve been in training camp for three months, and I had a great training camp.”