Event 23 – When Opportunity Knocks, Answer

The Little Caesars Arena marquee before the Lani Daniels-Claressa Shields fight. — ^{Fight Night in the Motor City.}

The Written Word

To Fight or not to Fight, That was the Question

Still Photos

Fighter Kahmel Makled.
The Gordie Howe statue at LCA.
An early look at LCA during the undercards.
Samantha Worthington celebrates her victory over Victoire Piteau.
Claressa Shields is introduced.
Over 15,000 fans turned out.
Claressa Shields and Lani Daniels fight.

Video

^{Tony Harrison’s ring walk.}

^{Harrison-Diaz final round.}

^{Harrison-Diaz decision announcement.}

^{Claressa Shields ring walk.}

^{Lani Daniels introduction.}

^{Claressa Shields introduction.}

^{Final round of Daniels-Shields fight as well as the decision announcement.}

Fun Facts

Traveling Party – Doug and his friend, Wayne
Last Time Visited – Both had been to several events at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. Neither had been to a boxing fight night there. In fact, this was Doug’s first boxing card anywhere. Wayne has seen two previously.
Staying Close to Home – Of the 23 Events to date, this is the first that’s been in my home state of Michigan.
Anthem Youthful Sensations – Prior to the Shields-Daniels bout, there were a three national anthems performed. The first was “Lift Every Voice and Sing” the Black National Anthem. It was performed by 12-year-old Jamaican-Canadian singer/actress Jazmin Headley. Interestingly enough, Headley portrayed a young Claressa Shields in the 2024 biographical docudrama about the fighter, The Fire Inside. The next anthem was that of New Zealand (Daniels’ native land) – “God Defend New Zealand” – and it was a recording. Finally, the “Star-Spangled Banner” was performed by 9-year-old Detroiter King Moore, who was a contenstant on this season of the television show, “America’s Got Talent.”
Full Night’s Work – As noted in the blog post, the doors opened for this fight card by 4:30 p.m. If someone arrived at that time and stayed through the final decision of the Shields-Daniels fight was announced they would have been there for a touch more than eight hours. To put this in perspective, someone could have climbed in their car at 4:30 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena and enjoyed a last call in Baltimore or St. Louis, MO, or Ottawa, Ontario.
Running List of States Traveled To/Through (25 total) – Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, & Wyoming
Running List of Countries Traveled To/Through (7 total) – Canada (Ontario & Quebec), England, Japan, Korea, Scotland, United States, & Wales
Distance Traveled – 74 miles roundtrip.
Cumulative Distance Traveled After 23 Events – 54,888 miles
Up Next: South American soccer in Argentina