The two-time Olympic gold medalist and current undisputed middleweight champion will drop down to 154 pounds and battle Ivana Habazin for the vacant WBO and WBC junior middleweight titles on Friday, Jan. 10 from Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.

Shields and Habazin were initially scheduled to fight in August, but that was postponed when Shields injured her knee training. The two then were set to square off in October in Shields' hometown of Flint, Mich. But the fight didn't happen after an incident involving Shields' brother and Habazin's lead trainer, James Ali Bashir, left the trainer unconscious at the weigh-in. Ali Bashir was sent to a local hospital, where he was just recently released. Shaken by the situation, Habazin refused to fight, and the bout subsequently was canceled.

 

A Shields (9-0, 2 KOs) victory would make her the fastest fighter in boxing history to win world titles in three different weight classes.

“My goal is to become three-division champ faster than any man or woman in history,” Shields said in a press release. “This is a very significant fight for both of us. We have both trained really hard twice, and great opportunities await the winner, so hopefully three times is the charm.”

Habazin (20-3, 7 KOs), a former IBF welterweight champion, competes in the United States for the first time. While Habazin plans on derailing Shields' path to history, the 30-year-old is also dedicating this fight to Ali Bashir.

“I've been thinking about this since October, and I have more of an incentive now given what happened,” Habazin said. “I feel like I'm fighting for James Ali Bashir, as well as for my own pride and respect. I’m also fighting for my country. I want to make Croatia proud that I am their daughter, and I feel that I now have their full support. Claressa is just a brief stop on my journey. I have bigger dreams and bigger shoes to fill in my life. I’m on my way to fulfilling my personal legend — being crowned the undisputed women's junior middleweight champion. This is just another step on that journey. Given my faith, I feel that while what happened in October was incredibly unfortunate, this was God’s plan. And I have faith that my hand will be raised in victory in January.”