Claressa Shields vs. Tori Nelson results: Full winner, analysis and reaction

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields improved to 5-0 as a professional boxer on Friday, winning a 10-round decision over 41-year-old and now previously undefeated Tori Nelson.

It was a very competitive bout early on, with Nelson’s aggression serving her well. But it became clear pretty quickly that Shields, winner of 77 amateur bouts before turning pro in 2016, was simply the more polished fighter. She kept Nelson where she wanted her, and was able to avoid the biggest hooks from the powerful Nelson. Shields used crisp jabs and effective dodging to stay ahead in pretty much every single round.

With the 100-90, 100-90, 100-90 unanimous decision win, Shields retained her WBC and IBF super middleweight titles.

In the televised opener, undefeated junior welterweights Shohjahon Ergashev and Sonny Fredrickson fought in an eight-round bout that only made it to the third. Fredrickson was counting on dragging his opponent into deep waters, and the strategy would likely have worked given the immense power Ergashev was expending early, if not for the fact that he got knocked out. Ergashev took the first two rounds, and then absolutely thrashed Fredrickson in the third, hitting him with punishing, unanswered left hands.

With the win, Ergashev moved to 11-0 for his career, with a knockout in every single fight.

In the co-feature, Jesse Hernandez and Ernesto Garza III went a full 10 rounds to a decision. It was an exciting bout, with both fighters throwing a huge amount of punches. Early on, it was all Garza, who was clearly winning on pressure and Hernandez’s iffy decision to remain in the pocket despite his extensive reach advantage. But Garza slowed down in the middle rounds and Hernandez took over, clearly winning the next several rounds with effective, accurate striking. Garza kept active and kept the flurries coming, but he landed fewer big shots and ultimately lost a split decision that probably shouldn’t have been split.

Below, you can find the round-by-round coverage of the televised bouts as they happened, and below that is a full list of results for the ShoBox card.

Round 1: Both are calm and taking their time to start. Shields wings a big right hook that Nelson dodges. Left jab from Shelds connects, but a winging flurry from both misses. Big overhand right from Shields is a glancing blow as a quiet round of feeling-out comes to an end.

Round 2: Shields ducks under a one-two hook combo. This round is fought a lot more closely, both fighters standing in the pocket, but nothing is really landing. Shields is keeping out of the limited offense from Nelson, while Nelson is generally blocking the shots thrown by Shields. They tie up multiple times and Nelson is warned for grabbing. Shields landed a huge short left hook as they separated.

Round 3: Good left jab from Shields. Nelson walks her down into the corner, but she can’t land anything of her own. Shields with a big left straight. She wings the right overhand, but Nelson closes the distance and goes under it. Two nice body shots from Nelson, and they’re her best shots of the fight. Shields just misses with a big one-two combo as the round ends.

Round 4: Left jab from Nelson lands, abut she eats a left hook from Shields for her troubles. Nelson gets Sheilds into the corner again, but she’s eating powerful shots, and not landing anything of her own. Shields is masterfully dodging the shots in the pocket. Big one-two body combo from Shields as Nelson misses with a pair of hooks.

Round 5: Shields lands a nice two-jab combo right on the button. Shields is just the much cleaner fighter, she’s connecting plenty. Nelson is laughing at her and shaking her head, but it’s all or show. Shields lands a huge right overhand, and another right on the cheek after that. Round comes to an end with Nelson having landed virtually nothing.

Round 6: Shields gets Nelson walking back in this one, connecting big and bullying her around the ring. Nelson isn’t the kind of fighter to get bullied, but she is right now. Shields is poised, and not even close to being in danger. Nice left jab from Shields. Good body shots from Nelson at the end of the round.

Round 7: Nelson is quick to tie up in this one. She doesn’t look gassed, but she’s having trouble landing anything big. Two short rights to the body from Shields. Nelson lands a big one to the body of her own. She gets Shields on the ropes and lands some good body shots, but Shields is keeping her head out of range, dodging all the big hooks. Shields lands a right hand over the top. The round ends with Nelson stumbling and Shields going for the kill.

Round 8: More of the same from Shields, who lands her stiff jab from range. They don’t really get into a big flurry until the final 10 seconds, when both are swinging wild hooks and ... nobody gets hit, really. Another definitive round for Shields.

Round 9: Nelson avoids a big overhand from Shields. Nelson lands a right hook in a flurry, but Shields answers right back with a pair of big straights. Nelson puts her head down and swings wildly, never coming close to landing. SHe’s keeping her head low to avoid those hard uppercuts from Shields. Right hook to the body from Shields.

Round 10: Nelson keeps her head down, throwing inaccurate hooks, and Shields continues to pick her shots, landing sharp straights to the side of the head. Hook to the body from Shields. Inside uppercut lands from Nelson but Shields is fine. Nelson is swinging for the fences with 20 seconds to go, but Shields isn’t in danger, She avods the big shots, and misses with big shots of her own. The fight ends with a big left hand from Shields landing.

Round 1: Left straight immediately sneaks through the guard from Hernandez. Garza gets Hernandez against the ropes, and lands three big left uppercuts, a big weapon for him as the much shorter boxer. The two get back to the center of the ring and swing away, both swinging hooks and both landing. Garza connects with a right straight and a left hook, both on the unguarded face. He then dodges a three-punch combo from Garza. Hernandez walks him down and ends up eating a big right that staggers him briefly. The round comes to an end. Both fighters were very active.

Round 2: Both are immediately active, and not much for defense, same as the first round. Both land big shots to the face, winging wide hooks. Garza gets Hernandez against the ropes and works some fast combos, connecting primarily with hooks to the body. Hernandez has some swelling near his right eye. Big left hook lands flush on the cheek of Hernandez. Garza is dealing a lot of damage and not eating much. They tie up, and are separated. Hernandez tries to score some points near the end of the round, with a right hook, but he eats a big, short left himself that stuns him and drops him to his knees. It’s counted as a knockdown. The fight resumes, and the round ends.

Round 3: Huge right hand just misses the jaw of Garza, who connects with a short combo to the body. They tie up, this round is a lot sloppier than the previous two. Garza sticks to Hernandez, keeping right in the pocket, and he’s finding success there. Garza eats a big right hand when Hernandez gets separation. A less active round for both fighters, with Hernandez showing some urgency — he knows he’s behind.

Round 4: Good left from Hernandez stumbles Garza at the start. They tie up and Garza lands another sequence of uppercuts. They tie up again, and Garza drags Hernandez to the ground. They are separated, and resume. Hernandez with a nice right jab followed by a hard left to the body. They get into it with some big pocket-fighting, and Hernandez is landing the harder shots despite not being in ideal range. He peppers Garza’s body with shots. Garza is tired out, and Hernandez is still fresh. A questionable low blow from Hernandez stops the action for about 40 seconds. When they resume, nothing big is landed and the round comes to an end.

Round 5: Two slick right jabs from Hernandez land. Garza is coming forward more, he seems to have caught his breath a bit. Garza lands plenty of big shots, but slows down near the end, with Hernandez connecting with some big body shots. Not a big round for either fighter.

Round 6: Garza slips, and it’s not counted as a knockdown. He comes forward after they resume, just missing a hard left hook. Hernandez is trying to land with a right hook of his own, but Garza is circling away from it well. Garza is breathing heavy, while Hernandez still looks fresh. Hernandez gets Garza backing up in the final minute, and he connects with several big shots that rock Garza. Garza shakes his head and smiles after the end of the round as though he didn’t get hurt, but it’s obvious he was.

Round 7: Garza is throwing shots, but there isn’t power behind them. Garza loses his mouthpiece in a flurry, and the referee warns him a second time. When they resume, Hernandez lands a huge left hand. Deep breaths by Garza. Hernandez keeps throwing short shots to the body and jabs, and Garza is landing his own shots because Hernandez is standing in his range. The round comes to an end with a flurry. It was a Hernandez round, but Garza isn’t giving up.

Round 8: Garza is getting sloppier, but Hernandez is still fighting the fight Garza wants. Hernandez is winning it, but he’s eating far more punches than he needs to. Garza keeps connecting with the fast, hard shots, especially the uppercut. Hernandez is coasting, and he might lose a round or two if he keeps this up.

Round 9: This round is virtually identical to the eighth round. Hernandez connects with a nice left straight and a clean left jab about halfway through, but nothing real big lands from either. Garza is a lot busier, connecting with multiple short combos to the face. Garza probably won this round.

Round 10: Hernandez’s corner tells him to be smart — they think they’re ahead and he wants a decision. Big overhand left form Hernandez sails over Garza’s head. Garza tries for a right hook, and Hernandez blocks it. Garza throws a short three-punch combo, all blocked. Hernandez with a big hook to the body, and then another. Hernandez dodges an uppercut and connects with a stepping right hook as he backs away. Hernandez starts landing big at the end, big hooks and Garza has nothing for it. The fight ends, and it should be Hernandez.

Round 1: Ergashev comes out aggressive, connects with a left hard on the jaw. He sneaks another left through and Fredrickson is knocked off balance, but he keeps standing. Right hook from Fredrickson just misses. Left straights from Ergashev are blocked. Ergashev gets Fredrickson against the ropes and throws several huge, hard shots. Fredrickson covers up, weathers the storm and gets away. Ergashev is throwing hugely powerful shots — it’s hard to imagine his gas tank holding up deep into this fight. The round, a clear win for Ergashev, comes to an end.

Round 2: Ergashev continues to be aggressive right out of the gate, but Fredrickson is defending well. They tie up several times, and the referee has to separate them. Fredrickson lands two big body blows with his right hand. Ergashev is taunting him big time. Ergashev is showboating quite a bit, and then throws a hard left jab that lands flush. Fredrickson responds with two powerful body shots that definitely do some damage. A better round for Fredrickson, as Ergashev was more concerned with taunting.

Round 3: Ergashev lands hard, big left hands followed by short rights, he’s teeing off and Fredrickson is rocked. Fredrickson starts to fall down and the referee separates them. It’s a knockdown for Ergashev. They resume fighting and Fredrickson still doesn’t know where he is. Ergashev tees off with huge left hands and Fredrickson can only cover up. The referee stops the bout, giving Ergashev the TKO victory.

Super middleweight: Claressa Shields def. Tori Nelson via unanimous decision (100-90 x3)
Super bantamweight: Jesse Hernandez def. Ernesto Garza III via split decision
Junior welterweight: Shohjahon Ergashev def. Sonny Fredrickson via TKO in Round 3