Claressa Shields pummeled Nikki Adler on Friday night in a matchup of previously unbeaten boxers, giving the two-time Olympic champion the Women's WBC and IBF Super Middleweight world titles.
The fight was mercifully stopped at 1:34 of the fifth round to give Shields a victory by technical knockout after she used a combination of powerful punches to leave Adler defenseless.
The 22-year-old Shields took control against the 30-year-old Adler in the opening round, landing a flurry of blows that sent her staggering against the ropes.
Shields (4-0, 2 KOs) didn't let up in the second, stunning Adler (16-1) with a left hook midway through the round. Shields went to her body in the third round before aiming high in the fourth, hitting Adler squarely in the face with a right that seemed to set up the end of the fight in the fifth. In the end, Shields landed 136 of 340 punches while Adler connected on just 6 of 84. In the first and fifth round, Adler failed to connect once.
