Claressa Shields chooses to fight in hometown of Flint, turning down New York, Las Vegas and Detroit

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Claressa Shields chose to fight in her hometown, a once-powerful city that has taken a series of hits, over opportunities to be the headliner on a boxing card in New York, Las Vegas or Detroit.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-division champion is facing top-ranked contender Danielle Perkins for the undisputed heavyweight title on Sunday night in Flint, Michigan.

“This fight could have been anywhere in the world from the Barclays Center to T-Mobile and to the LCA,” Shields said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press. “We were like, ‘Either you want to fight at the Barclays Center or do you want to fight in Flint?’

“My dream is fight at the Barclay’s, but the occasion calls for me to want to bring it back home because of the history of the fight, the first women’s undisputed championship at heavyweight.”

Shields is putting the spotlight on Flint just as she did in the movie “The Fire Inside,” released in December.

The birthplace of General Motors, 90 miles north of Detroit, has been on an economic roller-coaster ride for more than a century as the automaker lifted the community, left it and later retooled for changing markets.

Flint switched water sources in 2014 and began drawing water from the Flint River while a regional pipeline from Lake Huron was being constructed. The river water was not treated to reduce corrosion, a disastrous decision that led to lead from old pipes flowing into homes, schools and businesses.

The city returned to the Detroit water supply 18 months later. State tests since 2016 show Flint’s water has consistently been under the federal action levels for lead and copper, though some skeptical residents still use filters or bottled water.

Flint’s population was down to about 100,000 residents in 2010, according to the Census Bureau, after losing about 20,000 people in a decade.

Mayor Sheldon Neeley said the city is making a comeback with water that is safe to drink and new jobs to help people pay bills.

Shields, he said, is a shining example of how resilient residents in the city have become.

“She really embodies the spirit of the city of Flint — coming from crisis to recovery,” Neely said.

He added: “And it’s great that she chose her hometown to be able to bring this great showcase here.”

A sellout crowd of about 6,000 is expected at Dort Financial Center, home of the Ontario Hockey League’s Flint Firebirds, to witness the fight. More will watch via streaming service DAZN.

The 29-year-old Shields is 15-0 and has heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight belts that are kept in a rolling suitcase that travels with her.

She is coming off her third career knockout against WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in July at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, where the floor was packed and the lower level was mostly full of her fans.

Perkins, a 42-year-old former St. John’s basketball player, has won all five of her bouts with two by knockout and suddenly has more people following her next fight. The 10-card will also include three other matchups involving women.

“I always have told Claressa that I do always appreciate everything that she’s done for boxing,” said Perkins, who is from Brooklyn, New York. “Her coming up to the heavyweight division is the best thing that could have ever happened to me in my entire life. No one at any point ever cared about this division until Claressa came up here.”

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Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed.

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Follow Larry Lage at https://apnews.com/author/larry-lage

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