Predictions: Shields vs Dicaire

This Friday night on PPV (Mar. 5, 9 pm ET), Claressa Shields returns to the ring to try and fully unify the 154-pound division, facing Marie-Eve Dicaire in Shields’ hometown of Flint, Mich.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shields (10-0, 2 KO) has dominated at 160 and 154 since turning pro in late 2016, and that’s the outcome most will expect against Dicaire (17-0, 0 KO), an unbeaten titlist who’s had a good career but will be taking a step up in competition all the same.

Does the self-styled “GWOAT” stay unbeaten? We make our picks.

Scott Christ

I will say again that I legitimately think Claressa Shields is too much better than her competition for any fight she can make other than Savannah Marshall back at middleweight to possibly be interesting. It’s not her fault. There’s just nobody who can actually compete with her enough to be an intriguing opponent. I don’t think Marshall could at this point, either, but there is at least history and beef there. I just think Marshall beat a young Shields at the exact last time she was ever going to beat Shields.

So that said, yeah, Shields wins going away here. I took enough of a look at Dicaire footage to see that she’s not in Claressa’s league, and Dicaire may be better than anyone else at 154, so that’s no big shot at Dicaire. Shields is just that much better than everyone else at her weight(s). Last time we did staff picks for a Shields fight, ya boy was the dumbo who picked her to get a stoppage for the first time since 2017. YA BOY HAS LEARNED NOTHING! Shields TKO-9

Wil Esco

Claressa Shields will be headlining on PPV this weekend, something I even had to ask Scott to confirm despite receiving the press release. I mean, God bless Claressa Shields, she’s really accomplished a lot so far in her career, but she’s certainly not a PPV attraction. As it turns out, PPV was the only way to put this fight on, so it is what it is.

Anyway, how many times have we bemoaned the fact that the talent level in women’s boxing is just too sparse to have many compelling matchups, particularly for the most talented female boxers? Claressa Shields is certainly one of the elite, and while she’s not a particularly exciting fighter in my estimation, she gets the job done. And as much as Dicaire has prepared and says she’s ready for this moment, I just think the talent disparity is too much. I still think the fight will be a relative snoozer though, but I’ll take Shields to convincingly win on the cards. Shields UD-10

How to Watch Shields vs Dicaire

Date: Friday, Mar. 5 | Start Time: 9:00 pm ET
Location: Dort Federal Event Center – Flint, MI
TV: InDemand PPV ($29.99) | Streaming: FITE PPV ($29.99)
Online Coverage: BadLeftHook.com

Patrick L. Stumberg

Dicaire is a legitimate champion and a solid super welterweight, a sort of dollar-store Canadian version of Holly Holm with good long-range offense and good footwork. She’s also in way over her head against “T-Rex”; Dicaire doesn’t seem to have many infighting weapons besides holding and might actually be on the wrong end of the jab battle, meaning Shields’ seek-and-destroy tactics are just what the doctor ordered. Shields also holds a significant power advantage and figures to be the larger woman by a fair margin, as she’s a former super middleweight and Dicaire has never weighed in above 153 pounds.

That this fight will inevitably be one-sided is less an indictment of Dicaire and more a reminder of the seemingly insurmountable gap between Shields and everyone else her size. She hunts Dicaire down all night for a wide decision, though the entertainment value depends on the ref’s willingness to discourage Dicaire’s holding and allow Shields to work inside. Shields UD-10

Lewis Watson

Dicaire hasn’t got a KO on her record in 17 fights, and to suggest that the Canadian will be able to out-box Sheilds over 10 rounds is fanciful. Shields has cruised to 10-0 without hardly losing a round or breaking a sweat (apart from the opening round of the Hanna Gabriels fight) and I can’t see anything but another composed shut-out in this one. Shields UD-10

And the staff winner is…

Claressa Shields (4-0)!

Bad Left Hook will have live coverage for Shields vs Dicaire on Friday, Mar. 5, starting at 9 pm ET.