Four Tops, Kash Doll to perform at Claressa Shields boxing event in Detroit

Brendel Hightower, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read
Female boxing champion Claressa Shields of Flint, Michigan gets ready to throw out the first pitch Oct. 1, 2022 before the MLB game between the Tigers and the Twins at Comerica Park.
Female boxing champion Claressa Shields of Flint, Michigan gets ready to throw out the first pitch Oct. 1, 2022 before the MLB game between the Tigers and the Twins at Comerica Park.
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Michigan’s own undisputed world middleweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist boxer Claressa “G.W.O.A.T.” Shields will defends her titles in her home state this weekend, and she'll have the backing of Detroit music icons from multiple generations.

Detroit hip-hop star Kash Doll and Motown legends the Four Tops are each set to perform at the Little Caesars Arena boxing event.

(L-R) Lawrence Payton, Alex Morris, Ronnie McNeir, and Abdul 'Duke' Fakir of Four Tops perform onstage during MusiCares Persons of the Year Honoring Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson at Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 3, 2023, in Los Angeles, California.
(L-R) Lawrence Payton, Alex Morris, Ronnie McNeir, and Abdul 'Duke' Fakir of Four Tops perform onstage during MusiCares Persons of the Year Honoring Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson at Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 3, 2023, in Los Angeles, California.

The Four Tops will perform the National Anthem prior to the night’s main event, while Kash Doll will rap Shields to the ring as she makes the walk to defend her undisputed middleweight crown.

“I have been looking forward to fighting at Little Caesars Arena for so long, and to have Kash Doll and the Four Tops as part of the event will make it even more special,” said Shields in a news release. “The Masters of Motown and the Queen of Detroit joining the Queen of Flint… I can’t wait for June 3rd!”

Detroit rapper Kash Doll
Detroit rapper Kash Doll

Shields, 28, will defend her titles against Maricela Cornejo, the No. 1 ranked middleweight in the world.

More: Kash Doll gets back to Dexter Avenue — and her Detroit roots — on long-awaited new project

“Detroit has been a center of sports and culture for decades. June 3 is the return of championship boxing to Detroit and we want to highlight the city in all its glory,” said fight promoter Dmitriy Salita.

More: Claressa Shields has new opponent for June 3 fight at Little Caesars Arena

Shields (13-0) has fought professionally five other times in Michigan, including in her hometown of Flint in 2021. She won the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medals in women's middleweight boxing, the first American to do so.

The event takes place at 6 p.m. Saturday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The event will be streamed live on DAZN in the U.S. and Canada. Tickets available at 313presents.com.

Brendel Hightower is an assistant editor at the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bhightower@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Claressa Shields fight with Cornejo: Four Tops, Kash Doll to perform