An undefeated fighter from Claressa Shields’ hometown will be featured on her undercard June 3 in Detroit.
BoxingScene.com has learned that Ardreal Holmes will box Wendy Toussaint in a 10-round junior middleweight match that night. DAZN will stream Holmes-Toussaint in what figures to be a competitive co-feature before Shields faces Hanna Gabriels in the main event, a 10-round rematch, at Little Caesars Arena.
The 28-year-old Holmes (13-0, 5 KOs) – a tall, skillful southpaw from Flint, Michigan – has had his last two wins broadcast by Showtime as part of the premium cable network’s prospect series, “ShoBox: The New Generation.” In his last fight, Holmes defeated previously unbeaten Bronx native Ismael Villarreal (12-1, 8 KOs) by split decision in a 10-rounder February 17 at Stormont Vail Events Center in Topeka, Kansas.
The Haitian-born Toussaint (14-1, 6 KOs) has lost only to undefeated 154-pound contender Charles Conwell. Cleveland’s Conwell (18-0, 13 KOs) knocked out Toussaint in the ninth round of a 10-round fight that Showtime aired in October 2020 from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The 30-year-old Toussaint, of Huntington, New York, has won each of his two fights since Conwell beat him. He most recently out-pointed England’s Asinia Byfield (16-5-1, 7 KOs) unanimously in an eight-rounder June 18 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York.
Shields, meanwhile, will defend her IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO middleweight titles against Gabriels.
Costa Rica’s Gabriels (21-2-1, 12 KOs) is the only opponent who has dropped Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) since the two-time Olympic gold medalist made her pro debut in November 2016. Shields, a three-division champion, recovered quickly from that first-round knockdown and beat Gabriels comfortably on the scorecards (98-91, 97-92, 97-92) in June 2018 at Masonic Temple in Detroit.
Their rematch is the main attraction at a much bigger venue – the home arena of the NBA’s Pistons and the NHL’s Red Wings in downtown Detroit.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.