Claressa Shields won world championships in three weight divisions in just 10 fights as a professional boxer and she then signed a contract to compete in the Professional Fighters League. The two-time Olympic gold appeared on Heavy Live With Scoop B and talked about Laila Ali and Ronda Rousey.
Shields insisted on her desire to step into the ring with Laila Ali. Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson asked her if she preferred the fight to be inside a boxing ring or MMA octagon and she said: “It don’t matter.” Shields then explained:
“I can beat her in both. I’d just rather see her in the ring. That’s it. But, what I’m not going to do is I’m not going to speak on her to steal my shine.
Like, I’m the one making this transition, you know? She didn’t — like I said, she did a lot in her career; she fought against soccer moms, she beat ‘em, and she’s Muhammad Ali’s daughter so, she gets credit for it. Congrats to her but, I’m doing something that NO other woman boxer had done successfully and that’s transition into MMA, and be the World Champion in boxing and also go and try to be a World Champion in MMA. And I’m going to do it and I’m going to do it simultaneously at the same time!
So once that’s done, I don’t think there’s going to be any more arguments on who’s the best combo fighter in the world. It’ll be hands down myself.”
Robinson then asked Shields if Ronda Rousey, who dominated in MMA, was the best in the world: “Ronda Rousey,” asked Shields. “She had her time but, we have Amanda Nunez who knocked her out; we have Holly Holm who knocked out Ronda Rousey first; and then we have Amanda Nunez who knocked out Holly Holm…
I kind of feel like that it’s just the timing of everything. We have so many — and then we have Cris Cyborg who you can’t count out who Amanda Nunez also beat. You really can’t count out any of these girls. But Ronda Rousey has been retired or just hasn’t been fighting for a few years now, so I have to give the nod to Amanda Nunez at the moment or Cris Cyborg. One of the two.”
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