Danielle Perkins
VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)
Combined Graph record U-07990 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-7118.
Danielle Perkins, born August 30, 1982, is an American professional boxer from Houston, Texas, by way of Brooklyn, New York. A standout basketball player at St. John's University, where she helped her team reach two NCAA Tournaments, she played professionally in Europe before a car accident that temporarily paralyzed her ended her basketball career, as her promoters' signing release records; she found boxing in recovery. As an amateur boxer she won bronze at the 2018 world championships and gold at heavyweight in 2019 — the first American, man or woman, to win a world title since Claressa Shields in 2016, as the release states. She turned professional in 2020 and won the WBC Silver heavyweight title in March 2021. On February 2, 2025, she challenged Shields for the undisputed heavyweight championship in Flint, Michigan, and lost by unanimous decision (97–92, 99–90, 100–89). Dropping to light heavyweight, she won her first full world title on February 22, 2026, in Detroit, stopping WBA champion Che Kenneally in the sixth round, and the WBA's March 2026 ratings list her as its light heavyweight world champion, with a record of 6–1 and 3 knockouts as the fight reports state it.
Answer summary · this record in brief, from its own record text
Danielle Perkins, born August 30, 1982, is an American professional boxer from Houston, Texas, by way of Brooklyn, New York. A standout basketball player at St. John's University, where she helped her team reach two NCAA Tournaments, she played professionally in Europe before a car accident that temporarily paralyzed her ended her basketball career, as her promoters' signing release records; she found boxing in recovery.
Notes
Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0512. Title disposition — read carefully: Perkins is NOT carried as a WBA/WBC heavyweight champion. The sourced sequence is: WBC SILVER heavyweight title (a secondary belt) in March 2021; a LOST undisputed heavyweight challenge to Claressa Shields on February 2, 2025; and the WBA LIGHT heavyweight world title won February 22, 2026. Any roster shorthand upgrading the Silver belt or the lost challenge into a heavyweight championship is not carried. Firsts disposition: the 2019 amateur gold 'first American since Shields in 2016' framing is attributed to her promoters' release, not asserted independently. Identity: no nickname is sourced for Perkins and none is invented; aliases are empty by design. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Perkins's record spans two professional sports and a paralysis recovery before a world title at 43 — the graph's job is to keep the belt sequence exact so the story needs no inflation. Photo: HELD — no depicting rights-clean photograph on Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
- World Boxing Association. "Official Female Ratings as of March 2026." WBABoxing.com. Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
- BoxingScene. "Danielle Perkins: Che Kenneally Has Never Been in a Dangerous Fight." BoxingScene.com. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
- Salita Promotions and Kings Promotions. "Salita Promotions and Kings Promotions Sign Co-Promotional Deal with Undefeated Women's WBC Silver Heavyweight Champion Danielle Perkins." March 11, 2021. Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
- FightNews. "Shields Retains Undisputed Female Heavyweight Titles in Crews-Dezurn Rematch." FightNews.com, February 2026. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
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Record CTL-E-7118 · Combined Graph record U-07990 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 4 sources.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.
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Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Danielle Perkins (CTL-E-7118).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-7118/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Danielle Perkins (CTL-E-7118) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Combined Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-7118/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Danielle Perkins (CTL-E-7118).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-7118/
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