Claressa Shields, broadly thought to be one of many high names in girls’s boxing, has made headlines brazenly discussing a possible mega-fight with undefeated boxing legend Laila Ali. Revealing that she had made a $15million provide to tempt Ali out of retirement.
Claressa Shields vs. Laila Ali
“I’m simply placing my cash the place my mouth is and prepared to pay her what I really feel that she’s deserved, and we will make a combat occur,” Shields instructed Ariel Helwani. She additionally highlighted the occasion’s historic potential: “That combat might change the trajectory of girls’s boxing. It could possibly be just like the Conor McGregor versus Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather combat.
The build-up to this proposed bout has not been with out its share of verbal sparring. Shields, the reigning undisputed heavyweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, confidently asserted her superiority over Ali: “My motivation is to point out her that you could’t beat me, and also you rattling certain can’t knock me out. If we fought in our primes, I’d have knocked her out. Nevertheless it’s about shutting her up and passing the torch.”
Shields, who has held world titles throughout a number of weight lessons and is acknowledged as the one boxer – male or feminine – to grow to be the undisputed world champion in three totally different divisions, stands on the peak of recent girls’s boxing. She most lately defended her undisputed heavyweight crown in Detroit and stays undefeated in skilled boxing.
Laila Ali, daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali, boasts her personal place in boxing historical past. Competing from 1999 to 2007, Ali retired undefeated with a document of 24 wins and no losses, together with 21 knockouts. She captured titles in a number of divisions, together with the WBC, WIBA, and IWBF straps. Since retiring, Ali has pursued a profession in tv, however occasional rumors and promotional efforts have periodically instructed a comeback, albeit with out fruition.
The proposed Shields vs. Ali combat is being positioned as a generational conflict with the ability to remodel girls’s skilled boxing. Shields herself frames it as a watershed second akin to the largest male-dominated superfights of the previous decade. Consensus within the boxing world sees Shields because the heavy favourite, because of her current exercise, age, and accomplishments. Ali, against this, has not boxed competitively since 2007.
