Claressa Shields will now face Maricela Cornejo for her marquee homecoming fight in Detroit, Michigan next month.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist and women’s middleweight champion is now scheduled to face the top-ranked contender on June 3 at Little Caesars Arena.
Shields was originally scheduled to take on Hanna Gabriels, before the Costa Rican was removed from the card on Thursday due to results from a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association test earlier this month.
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Watch highlights of the epic between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall in a fight-of-the-year contender!
Gabriels (21-2-1, 12 KOs) floored Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) for the first time in her career when the pair met back in 2018, the latter eventually emerging victorious by unanimous decision at the Masonic Temple in Detroit.
The 36-year-old Cornejo, who is from Prosser, Washington, is ranked No 1 among contenders in the 160-pound division after winning three straight fights that improved her record to 16-5 with six knockouts.
“I told my team to get me the best,” the 28-year-old Shields said.
Shields will fight for the first time since settling her long-term rivalry with Savannah Marshall in a unanimous decision victory as the main event of the first televised all-female card in UK history in October.
