Claressa Shields-Ivana Habazin Fight Canceled After Trainer Attacked at Weigh-in
Ivana Habazin and Claressa Shields will not fight their junior middleweight title bout as scheduled Saturday night.
According to Boxing Insider, Habazin withdrew in the aftermath of her trainer, James Basher Ali, being attacked from behind and knocked unconscious by an unidentified person at the fight's weigh-in on Friday.
Sources present told ESPN that Ali was unconscious for "approximately 20 minutes," and the attacker fled the scene.
Below is footage from the scene at Dort Federal Event Center in Flint, Michigan:
Habazin (20-3-0 with seven knockouts) and Shields (9-0-0 with two knockouts) were set to fight each other for the first time.
Instead, the card will go on without them. Jaron Ennis and Demian Daniel Fernandez will fight welterweight followed by Jermaine Franklin and Pavel Sour in heavyweight. The fights will still be broadcast on Showtime.
