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.”