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US Boxing Star Claressa Shields Defends Undisputed Heavyweight Crown

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US boxer Claressa Shields continues to stand alone, after the two-time Olympic gold medalist successfully defended her undisputed heavyweight crown with a dominant win over New Zealand fighter Lani Daniels by unanimous decision on Saturday.

“I hit Lani with some big shots,” said Shields following the win. “I broke her to the body, I broke her down to the head — I mixed it up on her.”

“Lani is just very, very tough, and I knew she would be tough just from watching her fights and I could tell she worked on her speed,” Shields acknowledged afterwards. “She fought a hard fight.”

With a 17-0 record, including three knockouts, Shields is the first boxer — man or woman — to achieve undisputed status in three weight classes.

“I’m ready for anyone. I want the biggest and best fights out there,” said Shields. “I’m going to stay at heavyweight and hopefully get the big fights with Franchon Crews, Che Kenneally.”

Even more, the ambitious 30-year-old is next targeting a fight with the undefeated Laila Ali, hoping to lure the 47-year-old out of retirement by putting up $15 million for the clash.

“Hopefully [Ali] saw the fight tonight and says, ‘You know what? I think I can take her,'” said Shields. “So, hopefully she saw it tonight and tells us yes, but I just want to make the best fights and the biggest fights, and that’s against whoever

Lottie Woad Turns Pro Following Near-Win at 2025 Evian Championship

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English amateur Lottie Woad plays a shot at the 2025 Evian Championship.
Amateur Lottie Woad finished tied for third at the 2025 Evian Championship. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Amid her historic summer on the links, English amateur and rising Florida State senior Charlotte “Lottie” Woad is officially turning pro, accepting LPGA membership two days after nearly topping the 2025 Evian Championship leaderboard.

One week after becoming the first amateur to win a European Tour tournament since 2022 — with the 21-year-old taking the 2025 Irish Open title by a massive six-stroke margin — Woad came within one stroke of becoming the first amateur to win an LPGA major in 58 years.

Sunday’s finale saw world No. 25 Grace Kim emerge as the 2025 Evian Champion, with the Australian taking the title following a playoff with Thailand’s No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul.

Both Kim and Thitikul finished the tournament at 14-under-par, while Woad trailed a single stroke behind to tie 2021 Evian winner and Australia’s No. 5 Minjee Lee for third-place in the LPGA Grand Slam.

Unlike Lee, who banked $547,200 for her efforts, Woad’s amateur status means she had to forgo what would have been her share of the $8 million purse.

“I did have a look after and was like, ‘oh no,'” joked Woad about Lee’s check.

England's Lottie Woad watches her drive at the 2025 Evian Championship.
Lottie Woad will make her professional debut at the 2025 Scottish Open. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Woad to make pro debut next week

That all changes now, though, as Woad’s finish made her the first player eligible to join the LPGA through the governing body’s new lite Amateur Pathway (LEAP) program, in which top young golfers amass points to earn pro membership.

While the world’s highest-ranking amateur initially said she would take the week to weigh turning pro with returning to Florida State for her final NCAA year, Woad made her decision to turn pro Tuesday morning.

In addition to accepting the LPGA membership, she will also join the European Tour in 2026 — an invite Woad earned with her Irish Open win.

“I have only reached this point in my career through the help and support that I’ve received from so many people and organisations over many years,” Woad wrote in an Instagram post thanking her family and coaches. “I am very excited about this next chapter.”

Woad’s next chapter is imminent, as the world No. 64 announced her professional debut at the 2025 Scottish Open next week.

The field of established golf pros are already on notice, with Sweden’s No. 30 Madelene Sagström warning that “[Woad is] going to take European and American golf by storm very soon.”

Iga Świątek Makes History With 2025 Wimbledon Championship Win

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just womens sports

New world No. 3 tennis star Iga Świątek won her first Wimbledon Championship on Saturday, needing only 57 minutes to dominate US finalist No. 7 Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to top the 2025 London Slam.

To date, Świątek has never lost a Grand Slam final.

Saturday’s title is the 24-year-old’s first tournament win this season and the sixth Grand Slam trophy of her career alongside her four French Open wins and her 2022 US Open victory.

Świątek is now the first woman to win Wimbledon without dropping a single game in the final in over 100 years, with Saturday’s performance joining only Dorothea Lambert Chambers’s 1911 London title win over Dora Boothby in that elite club.

Even more, Świątek and legendary German star Steffi Graf are now the only women’s players to win a Slam by a perfect 6-0, 6-0 scoreline in the Open Era, with Graf doing so at the 1988 French Open.

“[It’s] pretty surreal,” said Świątek afterwards. “I’m just proud of myself because… who would have expected that?!”

With grass proving to be one of the trickiest surfaces in the modern calendar, Świątek is now the eighth straight first-time Wimbledon women’s champion, and the first to hail from Poland.

“Today I just wanted to enjoy the time that I had on the Centre Court and enjoy the last hours of me playing well on grass, because who knows if it’s going to happen again,” she said. “I just focused on that, and I really had fun.”

While Świątek celebrates, the tennis world will now switch back to the hardcourt — many players’ preferred surface — as the 2025 US Open kicks off next month to wrap up the Grand Slam calendar.

Runner Faith Kipyegon Beats Her Own World Record, Falls Short of 4-Minute Mile

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Three-time 1,500-meter Olympic gold medalist Faith Kipyegon fell just short of making running history on Thursday, as the middle-distance star clocked a time of 4:06.42 in her attempt to become the first woman to break the four-minute mile.

“It was the first trial. I have proven that it’s possible and it’s only a matter of time. I think it will come to our way,” said Kipyegon following Thursday’s race. “If it’s not me, it will be somebody else.”

Still the fastest mile-runner of any woman in history, the Kenyan icon did beat her own previous world record of 4:07.64 by 1.22 seconds, though the time won’t count as a new record as the race came during Nike’s unofficial Breaking4 event.

With full support from the sportswear giant — the 31-year-old’s partner for 16 years — Kipyegon had the benefit of multiple pace-setters, as well as an aerodynamic suit, 3D-printed Nike FlyWeb sports bra, and spiked shoes made specifically for the much-hyped four-minute mile attempt at Paris’s Stade Charléty.

“Faith didn’t just make history, she proved the future of sport is faster, stronger, and more inclusive than ever,” noted Nike president Amy Montagne after Kipyegon’s race.

“It was tough, but I am so proud of what I’ve done, and I’m going to keep on trying, dreaming and pursing big goals,” said Kipyegon. “I want to show the world, and especially women, that you have to dare to try.”

US Tennis Stars Shine at 2025 French Open

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Claire Watkins | Just Women’s Sports

A strong US contingent is showing out at the 2025 French Open, with 14 of the country’s best tennis stars advancing to Wednesday’s second round in Paris.

World No. 2 Coco Gauff headlines a US lineup spanning No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 8 Madison Keys as the WTA’s top ranks battle it out for the Grand Slam’s $2.9 million prize.

No. 16 Amanda Anisimova is also holding her own, advancing to the third round by downing Switzerland’s No. 78 Viktorija Golubic 6-0, 6-2 on Wednesday, while US underdog No. 83 Bernarda Pera upset Croatia’s No. 19 Donna Vekić in a three-set tiebreaker to do the same.

Despite her compatriots’ success, No. 9 Emma Navarro became the only Top 10 player to crash out early, managing to win just a single game against Spain’s No. 68 Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro in their first-round match on Monday.

Heavy-hitters No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 5 Iga Świątek are also cruising along, with Świątek ousting England’s No. 41 Emma Raducanu in straight sets on Tuesday morning, while Sabalenka faces Switzerland’s No. 97 Jil Teichmann for a second-round battle in the afternoon.

While three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka is hunting a first Roland-Garros trophy, Świątek already owns four, with the Polish phenom hoping to add to her current streak of three French Open victories — despite her recent struggles on clay.

Should Świątek and Sabalenka continue winning, the pair could collide in next week’s semifinals, landing on the same side of the Roland-Garros draw while Gauff and Pegula hold down the other two quadrants.

How to watch the 2025 French Open

Second-round action of the 2025 French Open continues through Thursday before Friday’s third round takes the Roland-Garros clay court.

Live coverage of the Grand Slam airs on TNT.

Rybakina lifts first trophy in a year in Strasbourg-01:23

Jessica Campbell continues to inspire the hockey world in 1st season with Seattle Kraken

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Niko Tamurian, KOMO Sports Director

Jessica Campbell is making history. Every single time the Seattle Kraken takes the ice, Campbell inspires as the first woman to work as an NHL assistant coach on the bench.

She accepted the role last summer, and now that the Kraken approaches a two-week break for the Four Nations Tournament, we caught up with Coach Campbell to get an update on the experience and the meaning of everything she’s accomplishing.

“As far as the experience, it’s been wonderful,” Campbell said. “The guys have been great, just try continue to do my part every day in ways to have a strong impact on the team and get better and demand more of ourselves, demand more of the guys.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MBa5ZEPUn1g%3Ffeature%3Dshared

Indeed, it is a new era for the Kraken with Campbell and Head Coach Dan Bylsma taking over the team in just its fourth season since entering the league. So I had to ask how exciting it was to be a part of it and trying to work to lay the foundation for this Kraken team as it hopes to establish itself as a perennial playoff contender.

“Exciting is probably a great word, for me it’s, the season is always full of highs and lows and all sorts of waves and I think just riding those waves and taking it all in,” Campbell said.

Taking it all in certainly pertains to the experience of this first NHL season after a life in hockey. Campbell played in college at Cornell and turned that playing prowess into a coaching career.

She landed with the Kraken organization working with Bylsma with the franchise’s American Hockey League affiliate in Coachella Valley. When the Kraken made a coaching change last April, Bylsma and Campbell came to Seattle and history was made.

“There’s a responsibility I think that comes with the opportunity that I have, carrying this torch for the next generation of young girls, young boys to be able to dream things they never thought was possible,” Campbell said. “I never pictured this opportunity for myself, I never had it to look up to.”

ALSO SEE | Jessica Campbell and the Kraken make history, but this move is all about winning

It’s incredible to think that she is doing what she loves, and that it just so happens doing what she loves is absolutely inspiring so many to do the same.

“That’s what it’s all about right? Just inspiring the next generation to believe in also dreams that they don’t traditionally see themselves in,” Campbell said. “It’s not just about young girls, it’s also about young boys, what they look up to – who they see is in a leadership position. I think it’s huge for eliminating that gap that we have and just continue to open doors for others to come into this space and find themselves following their own dreams.”

That’s why when we say Jessica Campbell is inspirational, it’s the most unequivocal fact you can encounter. She is making history and she is a coach that has earned every opportunity with an incredible offensive mind that is on full display to anyone who watches a Kraken game.

But she’s embraced Seattle, a city that certainly has supported her incredible journey. Her groundbreaking NHL season has been nominated by the Seattle Sports Commission as a finalist for “Sports Story of the Year.”

That support? It goes well beyond awards though, prestigious as they may be.

It’s about connecting with this city and its fans. And really, hockey fans all over the country.

“There was actually a moment in Dallas early on that inspired me to make bracelets for young kids because this little girl came with her mom,” Campbell said. “Mom was teary eyed at the back of the glass during warmups. She threw the bracelet over the top, it landed on the ice and Jamie Oleksiak and (Brandon) Montour they picked it up and brought it over in the middle of their warmups and it was an important moment I think because I think for me it truly captured what this means for young girls, young women and adults that are able to be on the sideline and see what this means for the growth of the game and I’m just so proud to get to do what I love every day and for it to have a bigger meaning beyond the game so I don’t take for granted any opportunity I have to connect with fans.”

Campbell’s lifelong journey on the ice as compelling as it’s been is just getting started. She hopes to be in Seattle for a long time to come. She hopes to inspire more change and give so many people in an out of hockey something to believe in.

And for all the things she hopes for, there’s one thing she knows for certain.

Because of all this, Jessica Campbell may be the first but certainly won’t be the last woman to coach an NHL team.

Claressa Shields beats Danielle Perkins to become boxing’s first undisputed women’s heavyweight champion

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darshan desai | Yahoo Sports

Claressa Shields made history in her hometown of Flint.

The “GWOAT” defeated Danielle Perkins by unanimous decision to become boxing’s first-ever women’s undisputed heavyweight champion. She also earned the accolade of being the only three-division undisputed champion, male or female, of the four-belt era.

FLINT, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 02: Claressa Shields arrives for her undisputed heavyweight title bout against Danielle Perkins on February 02, 2025 at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Claressa Shields captured the undisputed heavyweight title with a win over Danielle Perkins on Saturday at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Shields (16-0, 3 KOs) is known for her strong jab, but that was nonexistent on Sunday night at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. She explained in her post-fight interview that she was unable to use her jab because she tore a labrum in her left shoulder just nine days prior to fight night.

Shields, Uncrowned’s No. 1 pound-for-pound women’s boxer in the world, instead focused her efforts on landing the straight right hand and overhand right on the southpaw Perkins, which she did consistently throughout the fight. She hurt Perkins for the first time in Round 3 with an overhand right and almost secured an early knockout, but Perkins managed to stand up to the assault that followed.

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In Round 7, a straight right hand buzzed Perkins heavily, and Shields once again looked for a finish that didn’t come. To her credit, Perkins became more aggressive in the final three rounds, looking to get her own work off on Shields.

With around 10 seconds to go in the 10th and final round, Perkins threw a slow left hand, which Shields slipped and countered with a sharp right, flooring Perkins. There wasn’t any time left for Shields to look for the finish as the final bell rang just after the referee signaled for the action to resume.

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Shields was awarded every round on one scorecard, 100-89, nine rounds on a second scorecard, 99-90, and seven rounds on the third card, 97-92. She said in her post-fight interview that she wished to box two more times in 2025, naming a list of potential opponents, which included Franchon Crews-Dezurn, Hanna Gabriels, Savannah Marshall, MMA legend Cris Cyborg and retired trailblazer Laila Ali.

Check out full results, highlights and play-by-play of the Shields-vs.-Perkins fight card below.

More from Uncrowned

Additional select Yahoo articles

Main Card

Undisputed heavyweight title: Claressa Shields def. Danielle Perkins via unanimous decision (100-89, 97-92, 99-90)

Heavyweight: Brandon Moore def. Skylar Lacy via 8th-round DQ | Watch video

Super welterweight: Joseph Hicks Jr. def. Keon Papillion via 7th-round TKO | Watch video

Super lightweight: Joshua Pagan def. Ronal Ron via unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, 78-74)

Super featherweight: Caroline Veyre def. Carmen Vargas via unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72, 80-72)

Super bantamweight: Ashleyann Lozada def. Denise Moran via unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)

Nelly Korda Kicks Off 2025 LPGA Run with 2nd Place Tour of Champions Finish

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US golf star Nelly Korda came out swinging this weekend, taking second place at the Tournament of Champions to launch her 2025 LPGA campaign.

The world No. 1 narrowly fell to tournament winner No. 35 A Lim Kim, with the South Korean standout picking up her third career LPGA win and her second since November 2024. Her 20-under-par result also marked her second straight win in which she never trailed at the end of any round.

Korda pulled within one stroke of Kim on the back nine, before the eventual champion surged ahead with three birdies in her last four holes. With her 7-under Sunday performance, Korda finished the tournament at an impressive 18-under.

The result marked Korda’s fifth-straight Top 5 finish, a streak that dates back to last August’s AIG Women’s Open.

“This is what I love about golf — being in the hunt on a Sunday going down the back nine,” an upbeat Korda told reporters after her final round. “I’m never going to complain finishing second in a tournament and giving it a run… There are definitely a couple putts I would like to have back, but overall I think I’m very happy with this week and excited for next week.”

Nelly Korda lines up a putt at the 2025 LPGA Tournament of Champions.
Korda is eyeing another top finish on her home course next weekend. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Next up: Korda’s home course advantage

The LPGA next lands in Korda’s hometown of Bradenton, Florida, for the Founders Cup, which tees off on Thursday.

That home course advantage, as well as the fact that Korda won the Drive On Championship on those links last season, makes her the tournament’s unofficial favorite this year.

Fellow US star and world No. 14 Rose Zhang is the Founders Cup’s defending champion, with her win snapping Korda’s historic five-tournament win streak last year. That said, the 2024 edition took place at New Jersey’s Upper Montclair Country Club, so the Florida relocation removes the course familiarity that would normally give the reigning title-holder an assumed edge.

Korda’s preparation for the upcoming competition will be intentionally light, as she doesn’t normally practice during tournament weeks.

“Definitely some areas where I feel like I need to kind of tighten up some loose ends,” Korda said on Sunday. “Overall, I think I can’t complain about the state of my golf game right now.”

Unlike her jam-packed season start last year, this week’s even will be Korda’s last before a seven-week pause. She has opted out of three upcoming tournaments — the Honda LPGA Thailand, the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore, or the Blue Bay LPGA in China.

Korda will instead return to play at the end of March, when the Ford Championship tees off in Chandler, Arizona.

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