Braekhus Dominates Lopes, Keeps Titles

Cecilia Braekhus is still the undisputed female welterweight champion, as she retained her titles with a dominating unanimous decision win over Aleksandra Lopes at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

After an even, feeling-out opening round, Braekhus began to take over, lighting up the challenger’s face with several combinations. Lopes was rocked with a heavy hand to the face in the fifth, but she managed to not get knocked down and survived the round.

Braekhus continued to pick up the pace in the sixth, as she wanted to get the knockout.

The fight was absolutely one-sided, with Braekhus landing 41 percent of her total punches thrown and 51 percent of her power punches, compared to 11 and 23 percent, respectively, from Lopes.

The judges scored the bout 99-91, 100-90, 100-90.

Claressa Shields competed on the undercard, successfully defending her WBC/IBF/WBA Female Middleweight Titles with an equally dominating performance against Femke Hermans.

Shields took the first couple of rounds easily due to aggression, with Shields stunning her challenger in the third. Hermans faired better for herself as a counterpuncher, but Shields was able to hold off Hermans by utilizing her jab and switching up her techniques.

All three judges gave Shields every round, giving her 100-90 scorecards for a win and successful title defense.