Claressa Shields: I Was Never Able To Get My Just Due In Boxing

As Claressa Shields, maybe probably the most achieved feminine boxer in a technology, gears up for her blended martial arts debut, she is making it clear that no love has been misplaced between her and boxing.

The 26-year-old Michigander has lengthy been sad concerning the onerous structural issues she has confronted in skilled boxing, from the fanbase to the community executives in command of greenlighting her fights, although she is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and multiple-weight titleholder.

In her estimate, she needs to be a “family title” and a seven-figure earner; however she is neither of these issues.  

That’s the reason, in a profession altering transfer, she will likely be switching over to the Skilled Fighters League (PFL) on June 10 for her inaugural blended martial arts look ­– a sport, she feels, can lastly catapult her to superstardom.

“I wish to be a family title,” Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) not too long ago instructed MMAFighting in an interview. “I wish to be a millionaire. I wish to get my simply due and I used to be by no means capable of get my simply due in boxing so I’m going to make use of my athleticism to see what I can do in MMA.”

In an try and shore up what she believes is a big pay disparity between feminine and male boxers, Shields launched her personal pay-per-view debut earlier this 12 months in opposition to Marie-Eve Dicaire. Nevertheless, judging from her feedback, it doesn’t seem to have earned her the windfall she anticipated.

“In girls’s boxing, girls don’t receives a commission that a lot,” Shields defined when chatting with MMA Preventing. “I’ve received each title you may consider, each final group. Three-time division world champ, two-time undisputed champ at 154 and 160 [pounds]. I’ve held titles at 168 and it’s like I’m not a millionaire. I’m identified worldwide however I’m not a family title but.”

Though Shields has appeared hopeful previously about enhancing her place in boxing, her newest feedback recommend a substantial amount of resignation.  

“There’s nothing extra I can do in girls’s boxing to make me be a family title trigger I’ve finished the whole lot. Nothing else I can do.”