Claressa Shields and Ivana Habazin will fight on Jan. 10 in Atlantic City, nearly three months after their scheduled matchup was canceled following a violent altercation at the weigh-in.
The bout had been scheduled for Oct. 5 in Flint, Michigan, Shields’ hometown, but it was pulled off a Showtime-televised card after Habazin trainer James Ali Bashir was injured by punches on the day before opening bell.
Bashir was hospitalized with reported facial fractures. A few days after the incident, he returned to the hospital with a brain bleed, according to a Facebook post from Habazin.
Artis Mack, Shields’ brother, was arraigned on an assault charge in Michigan’s Genesee District Court on October 17 for allegedly throwing the punches. Mack, 28, pleaded not guilty.
Shields (9-0, 2 knockouts), a two-time Olympic gold medalist, hoped that the junior middleweight fight would be rescheduled. She and Habazin (20-3, 7 KOs), of Croatia, were initially scheduled to meet on August 17. That date was shelved when Shields suffered a knee injury.
“My goal is to become three-division champ faster than any man or woman in history,” said Shields, who already has won middleweight and super-middleweight belts. “This is a very significant fight for both of us. We have both trained really hard twice and great opportunities await the winner, so hopefully three times is the charm.”
Habazin says she is motivated for the fight because of what happened in Flint.
“I’ve been thinking about this since October, and I have more of an incentive now, given what happened,” Habazin said. “I feel like I’m fighting for James Ali Bashir, as well as for my own pride and respect.’’