Claressa Shields vs Lani Daniels Betting Preview

Every now and then, you get a figure that comes along in women’s boxing who is capable of completely changing the game. There’s certainly an argument to be made that the likes of Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano have filled in that gap better than the majority, but there’s also a case for the one and only Claressa Shields, who is set to return to the ring to defend her 16-0 unbeaten record later this summer.

Shields will be going up against Lani Daniels who, in her own right, has been around the block in this game for a while. After suffering a few early setbacks in her career, she’s been able to go on a run that has taken her to the verge of her biggest victory yet. Of course, in order to claim that victory, she’ll have to overcome Shields, who has never been beaten in a professional boxing setting.

One of the biggest storylines, in our view, coming into this one is that Claressa Shields has declared she will no longer be competing in mixed martial arts. While she did well to move to a 2-1 record during her stint with the PFL, she acknowledged in a recent interview that it’s taken up a significant amount of her time – and the 30-year-old would rather pour her energy and focus into maximising her boxing career.

For Lani Daniels, one could argue that she has absolutely nothing to lose here. She’s already going to be seen as a significant underdog in a fight where the odds seem to be stacked against her, and it’s not like she hasn’t tasted defeat before. This should make for a really fascinating watch, and we actually don’t think it’ll be the kind of one-sided domination that a lot of fans perhaps hope it’ll be.

So whether you’re looking for the best sportsbooks in the US or you’re just interested in learning a bit more about the fight, we’re here to break down what we think is going to happen.

Shields will want to prove that she’s still at her very best, whereas Daniels will want to get in her face early and try to earn some respect. While we do think Lani has the cardio to go the distance, we’d argue that her best bet at securing the upset would be to engage in a series of flurries with the aim being to rock Claressa and get her off her rhythm.

Alas, we’re not convinced she’s going to go down that route, as much as we think that’d be fun to see. Shields is an absolute pro and she’ll know how to manage this fight, and she’ll know when to turn it up in the later rounds in case she isn’t convinced about the scorecards.

We do think this is going to be an entertaining clash of styles and Daniels will put everything on the line in the later rounds (depending on what she has left), but in the end, Claressa Shields will get the job done.

Official prediction: Claressa Shields defeats Lani Daniels via unanimous decision