Four years after winning her first Olympic boxing gold medal, American Claressa Shields is on the verge of winning a second.
Shields advanced to the gold medal bout in the middleweight (69-75 kg) division Friday afternoon with a win by unanimous decision over Dariga Shakimova of Kazakhstan. Shield won all four rounds on two of the three judges’ scorecards, with the other scoring three rounds in Shields’ favor. Shields was dominant throughout the fight, scoring a knockdown in the final round but her overwhelmed foe was able to finish the fight.
In the gold medal bout Sunday, Shields will face Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands, with Fontijn defeating China’s Li Quan in the other semifinal.