Claressa Shields made a powerful return to middleweight on Sunday, stopping Kaye Scott in the sixth round to reclaim the WBA and WBC titles in Atlanta.

Fighting at middleweight for the first time since 2023, the five-division world champion dropped three classes to face 42-year-old Scott of Australia.

Dominant from the start, Shields shifted through the gears to seal a fourth career stoppage win and take her professional record to 19-0 – with Wales’ Lauren Price in her sights.

“It was a hard camp,” said Shields, an Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016. “I always tell myself that everything is easy work, but it was a really hard camp.

“I cut 38 pounds. I started 14 weeks ago at 198 and then I got down to 160.

“It was the most disciplined I’ve been since the Olympics.”

In just her eighth professional bout, Scott was outclassed by the challenger’s hand speed and accuracy before being weakened by a flurry of body shots in the fifth.

In the following round, Shields put Scott on the ropes with a vicious left hook and, sensing opportunity, the American threw a barrage of shots as the fight resumed.

As a dazed Scott failed to defend herself, her corner threw towels into the ring to end the bout.

“I was actually just trying to figure [Scott] out,” said Shields, who holds all four heavyweight titles. “She was stronger than I thought.

“She was very strong, and I knew that with me cutting the weight that I cut, that I didn’t want to exert too much early.”

Following her statement win, Shields suggested welterweight champion Lauren Price should be her next opponent in December or January.

Failing this, the 31-year-old hopes for a meeting with compatriot Mikaela Mayer, or Canada’s Tamm Thiebault, who holds the IBF, WBO and Ring middleweight belts.

“She’s only had five fights as a professional, but she’s got belts,” Shields said of Thiebault.

“It’s not my fault these girls don’t have the experience that I have. She’s got a belt that I know belongs to me – and that’s the Ring belt.”

Newcastle United have reached an agreement with Benfica to sign defender Amar Dedic.

Sky Sports News understand the deal to be worth £29.5m for the right-back, and the 23-year-old is expected to fly to Newcastle ahead of a medical on Monday.

There are still a few formalities to complete, but there is confidence Dedic will be a Newcastle player in time for their Premier League opener against Liverpool next Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

The right-back could be immediately called upon at St James’ Park, with Tino Livramento still recovering from a calf injury sustained on international duty with England in June.

Dedic previously worked with Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle at Red Bull Salzburg, where he helped the club retain the Austrian Bundesliga title in 2023.

Newcastle have been looking to strengthen at right-back following Kieran Trippier’s departure to Wolves on a free transfer this summer.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international has won 31 caps and started three of his country’s four matches at the World Cup.

Newcastle want Palhinha on permanent deal

Newcastle are also in talks over a permanent deal for Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich.

The club are looking to strengthen their midfield after their pursuit of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Aston Villa’s proposed loan move for Palhinha both broke down last week.

Bayern are not interested in loaning out the midfielder, which is why sporting director Max Eberl said yesterday that the club would not do a deal with Villa.

Palhinha is now reassessing his options, which could include staying at Bayern or returning to Portugal, with Benfica and Sporting both showing interest.

However, the midfielder appears to prefer remaining in the Premier League if the opportunity arises.

“We’ve come a long way in five years”. A post from Ryan Reynolds back in May, reflecting on another touchstone of his Wrexham revolution: the club’s best finish in their 162-year history. “We have so much to be proud of, Reds”.

A reminder of the club’s elevated standing in the shape of a pyramid was pictured below the text, or rather, a veiled petition for patience after narrowly missing out on last season’s Championship play-offs.

The ambition of Wrexham’s larger-than-life project has endured plenty of limits along its unrelenting route. Progression did not happen immediately; it took three attempts just to escape the stranglehold of non-league football. But prospects still remain on a rather remarkable trajectory.

A historic third successive promotion meant a stab at the second-tier last term, and after a slower-than-expected start, Wrexham did eventually morph into play-off contenders. They missed the mark by two points and one place. The side that beat them to that spot (Hull City) now play in the Premier League.

Monday 17th August 7:00pm


Kick off 8:00pm

By powers of unsophisticated deduction, those margins put Wrexham close to achieving similar success. Except football, most of the time, does not support regular prognostication. Wrexham’s net spend last summer was the highest of all 24 Championship clubs, and yet the Premier League Promise Land remains frustratingly out of reach.

Initiate phase two of promotion plan: Make the Kitchen Work Better.

Not one of Reynolds’ most catchy Hollywood titles but one that has merit.

As the Wrexham co-owner was trying to explain when discussing the club’s strategy for squad building to fans recently, most of the remodelling was done last year. As a reminder: Wrexham’s net spend was higher than Chelsea’s in summer 2025 – and seven other top-flight sides.

“Like a home renovation show… this episode is about making the kitchen work better rather than doing a whole-house renovation,” Reynolds maintains.

The work back then was prudent. Seven of last summer’s 13 signings are regular internationals and six have Premier League experience, while a large cash injection into The Racecourse Ground for a new stand to help meet unprecedented ticket demand suggests thought is being put into long-term growth strategy.

Reynolds and co-owner Rob Mac, sticking with the renovation analogy, have built terrific foundations from which to prosper. Wrexham’s Disney-documented journey continues to draw mass global appeal, making them one of the most commercially attractive clubs in the EFL. Time, now, to spruce up the interiors.

Phil Parkinson has a team of workhorses but not yet a team of world-beaters. Only one Wrexham representative featured in last season’s EFL team of the year (Callum Doyle). For context, champions Coventry had four, neatly spread through the spine of their team.

Wrexham have made three major signings so far: goalkeeper Anthony Patterson from Sunderland in a club-record deal, defender Danny Imray from Crystal Palace, and midfielder Ben Whiteman from Preston. Clamour is for a top-class striker to join that pack.

Travelling across the Atlantic for a three-game pre-season tour in Tampa, New York and Philadelphia last month showed exactly why an A-list forward might be charmed by Wrexham’s whimsical powers. They have become America’s new sweetheart. Over 40,000 flocked to the Yankee Stadium to watch them play Liverpool.

Welcome to Wrexham.

But back on more familiar terrain, Parkinson was left to rue “missing moments” in a first round Carabao Cup defeat to Middlesbrough last week. A running theme of pre-season. The calls for a more natural No 9 with pace have intensified since.

Parkinson has already issued reassurances: “We feel we’re not where we need to be yet and we know that. We’re under no illusions. We’ve got to make this squad so strong, and we are working tirelessly to bring those extra players in.” Wrexham’s bid will likely rest on the strength of those additions. But there is also a different factor in their favour.

One of the major changes for 2026-27 is the expansion of the Championship play-offs, a format which extends qualification down to eighth. If that were in play last season Wrexham would have made the cut. According to Opta, their chances of top eight this time stand at 35.8 per cent, much healthier than their 26.2 per cent likelihood of top six.

The house that Hollywood built has seen its sharp rise tempered by the great unpredictability of the Championship for now. With kitchen renovations ongoing, what can they cook up from here?

Watch Cardiff vs Wrexham live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm on Monday; kick-off 8pm