Tag: Claressa Shields

Fight Week: Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall will finally meet again

Fight Week: Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall will finally meet again a decade after Marshall outpointed a teenaged Shields.

FIGHT WEEK

Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall will finally meet as professionals in a middleweight title unification bout a decade after Marshall outpointed a teenaged Shields in an amateur tournament.

CLARESSA SHIELDS (12-0, 2 KOs) VS. SAVANNAH MARSHALL (12-0, 10 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, Sept. 10
  • Time: 3 p.m. ET / noon PT (main event later in show)
  • Where: O2 Arena, London
  • TV/Stream: ESPN+
  • Division: Middleweight (160 pounds)
  • Rounds: 10 (two-minute rounds)
  • At stake: Shields’ IBF, WBA, WBC and Marshall’s WBO titles
  • Odds: Even (average of multiple outlets)
  • Also on the card: Mikaela Mayer vs. Alycia Baumgardner, junior lightweights (for Mayer’s IBF, WBO and Baumgardner’s WBC titles)
  • Prediction: Shields UD
  • Background: Marshall outpointed Shields the only time they met in the ring but that was as amateurs in 2012, when Shields was 17 years old. A lot has changed. Shields, who never lost before or since the setback against Marshall, went on to become a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a three-division titleholder as a professional and a face of combat sports. The 27-year-old from Flint, Michigan, has won world titles in two divisions and is 7-0 in title fights, 4-0 against former or current beltholders. She has barely lost a round in her career, which includes at least seven shutout decisions to go with two knockouts in her 12 fights (some records are incomplete). Shields is coming off a shutout decision over Ema Kozin in defense of her 160-poiund titles. She also is 1-1 in mixed martial arts fights. Marshall, 31, was a 2012 World Champion and a two-time Olympian for her native England but lost her first fight in 2012 and second in 2016. She won the vacant WBO middleweight title by stopping Hannah Rankin in seven rounds in October 2020 and has successful defended her belt three times, all by knockout against Maria Lindberg, Lolita Muzeya and Femke Hermans, to set up the showdown with Shields. The last fight took place in April. The bout on Saturday will be in London, about 250 miles south of Marshall’s hometown of Hartlepool. Also on the card, 2016 U.S. Olympian Mikaela Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs) and countrywoman Alycia Baumgardner (12-1, 7 KOs) will fight to unify all the junior lightweight titles.

 

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

THURSDAY

  • Yokasta Valle vs. Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen, strawweights (for Valle’s IBF and Nguyen’s WBO titles), San Jose, Costa Rica (DAZN).

FRIDAY

  • Joseph Adorno vs. Hugo Alberto Roldan, junior welterweights, Atlantic City, New Jersey (Showtime).
  • Josh Wagner vs. Jorge Perez Sanchez, welterweights, Brampton, Canada (DAZN).
  • Brandon Glanton vs. Mario Aguilar, cruiserweights, Plant City, Florida (ProBox TV).
  • Christian Mbilli vs. DeAndre Ware, super middleweights, Montreal (ESPN+).

SATURDAY

  • Sukhdeep Chakria Singh vs. Xhuljo Vrenozi, middleweights, Brampton, Canada (DAZN).
  • Austin McBroom vs. AnEson Gib, cruiserweights, Los Angeles (pay-per-view). Also, Le’Veon Bell vs. Adrian Peterson, exhibition.

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How MMA helped Claressa Shields’ clinch work in boxing: ‘I’m a lot stronger than what I was’

Claressa Shields says MMA has helped improve her boxing.

[autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] says MMA has helped improve her boxing.

Shields, a multiple world champion in three weight classes in boxing, has competed twice in MMA. She stopped Brittney Elkin in her pro debut, but lost a split decision to Abigail Montes in October 2021. Both fights came under the PFL banner.

Having to add wrestling and grappling to her training for MMA, Shields says she picked up on a lot of stuff that she plans to show off in boxing. She faces Savannah Marshall on Sept. 10.

“I’m a lot stronger than what I was – and definitely inside the clinch,” Shields recently told MMA Junkie. “I used to hate it when girls used to hold me in boxing because it would be like, ‘How the hell do you get loose from here?’ But now I know so many moves on the inside. You’ll probably see me doing some MMA stuff in here, moving the girl’s arm and hit her in the stomach because it’s like you’re doing all this stuff to not get loose, but to open up for shots.”

Shields pointed to heavyweight world champion boxer Tyson Fury as an example. Fury got some MMA training with former UFC title challenger Darren Till on multiple occasions.

“You can ask Tyson Fury – he does the same thing,” Shields said. “He did a lot of clinch work. He’s done some MMA training even before people knew about it. So if you even watch him inside the clinch, you will see him doing a whole bunch of stuff, and I didn’t know that those things were possible until I started doing MMA.”

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Claressa Shields would love to box Amanda Nunes – then get inside the cage ‘but it would be in two years’

“I would love for us to box inside the ring. And like I’ve said before, I will get inside the cage with Amanda Nunes, but it would be in two years.”

[autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] is willing to fight [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] twice – once in each of their sports.

Ahead of her upcoming boxing match against Savannah Marshall on Sept. 10, Shields was asked about a potential fight with UFC dual-champion Nunes and she was all for it.

But Shields reminded everyone that she’s merely responding to Nunes’ callout. Prior to avenging her loss to Julianna Peña at UFC 277 last month, Nunes told DAZN that boxing Shields would be the biggest fight, and Shields is open to both a boxing match and an MMA fight.

“Amanda Nunes said a week before her fight she wanted to fight me in the ring,” Shields told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “So it wasn’t just me poking the bear, the bear poked me. So Amanda Nunes said she wanted to fight against me, and that would be one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing as far as in crossovers, and I agree with it. I would love for us to box inside the ring. And like I’ve said before, I will get inside the cage with Amanda Nunes, but it would be in two years.”

Holding multiple world championships in three weight classes in boxing, Shields has only competed twice in MMA, both under the PFL banner. She stopped Brittney Elkin in her pro MMA debut, but lost a split decision to Abigail Montes last October and understands that she needs a lot more time before being able to compete with Nunes in the cage.

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Claressa Shields confirms return to MMA, expects placement on the 2022 PFL Championships

Claressa Shields is not done with MMA.

[autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] is not done with MMA.

The multiple-time women’s boxing champion is committed to continuing her young MMA career. Shields (1-1) is not discouraged by her most recent performance, where she lost a split decision to Mexico’s Abigail Montes in October 2021.

Shields expects to return to the cage later this year, if all goes well in her boxing title bout against Savannah Marshall on Sept. 10 in London.

“I’ll fight in November MMA, the PFL finals,” Shields told MMA Junkie in a media scrum on Wednesday. “I’ll be fighting, I believe, in the co-main event, which I don’t want to. I keep telling them that, but they just expect so much out of me.

“I win my fight Sept. 10, I take about a week off, and then I actually come back down here (in South Florida). I’ve been thinking about doing some training at ATT or trying to see if Henry Cejudo can come down here, and we do some training over here. We always have other fights and other bags to collect.”

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Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and undefeated boxing champion, is thankful for MMA. She says the sport has brought many opportunities that boxing just hasn’t offered, which is something she’s not too happy about.

“I got so many fans from doing MMA,” Shields said. “I got endorsements, I got sponsors, I got movie deals, I got a lot from just two fights in MMA. It’s sad because I’m way better in boxing than MMA, but boxing needs to give the same opportunities to women, because if we’re being honest, in boxing I should be getting endorsements, sponsorships, the movie deals, magazine covers.

“Boxing should be giving those opportunities to women, but they’re not. But in MMA, they’re going to cut the checks.”

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Claressa Shields high on Cris Cyborg’s potential in boxing: ‘She can take on some of top girls’

Claressa Shields is high on Cris Cyborg’s potential in boxing: “She can take on some of the top girls.”

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at MMAJunkie.com.

Claressa Shields approves of Cris Cyborg’s venture into the boxing world.

The multiple world boxing champion thinks Cyborg has what it takes to not only hold her own in the sweet science, but actually fight and beat world-class opposition.

Shields, who returns to the boxing ring against Savannah Marshall on Sept. 10, is high on the decorated MMA fighter. In fact, she hoped Cyborg’s Sept. 25 boxing debut came against an opponent at a higher level than Simone Silva.

“I’ve been able to get inside the ring with Cris and I think she’s good enough to where she doesn’t have to fight somebody that’s 17-14,” Shields told MMA Junkie at a media scrum on Thursday. “I think she can take on some of the top girls. I think Cris Cyborg can beat Jessica McCaskill. I think she can go to 154 and do some things. Cris Cyborg can box.”

Cyborg is one of the most decorated female fighters in MMA history. She won championship belts in the UFC, Bellator, Invicta FC and Strikeforce. The 37-year-old has shown interest in a switch to boxing for many years, and she’ll finally get the chance on Sept. 25 in Brazil.

Shields has trained with Cyborg in the past and was very impressed not only by her technique, but how quickly she learned.

“We only sparred one time, I think like four rounds, but she learned a lot, and she adjusts very, very fast,” Shields said. “She asked me some of the best questions that any sparring partner ever asked me because she wanted to understand. And when I explained it to her, it was like her eyes opened up, and she was like, ‘Wow.’ I see that she’s added that to her MMA.”

Claressa Shields high on Cris Cyborg’s potential in boxing: ‘She can take on some of top girls’

Claressa Shields is high on Cris Cyborg’s potential in boxing: “She can take on some of the top girls.”

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at MMAJunkie.com.

Claressa Shields approves of Cris Cyborg’s venture into the boxing world.

The multiple world boxing champion thinks Cyborg has what it takes to not only hold her own in the sweet science, but actually fight and beat world-class opposition.

Shields, who returns to the boxing ring against Savannah Marshall on Sept. 10, is high on the decorated MMA fighter. In fact, she hoped Cyborg’s Sept. 25 boxing debut came against an opponent at a higher level than Simone Silva.

“I’ve been able to get inside the ring with Cris and I think she’s good enough to where she doesn’t have to fight somebody that’s 17-14,” Shields told MMA Junkie at a media scrum on Thursday. “I think she can take on some of the top girls. I think Cris Cyborg can beat Jessica McCaskill. I think she can go to 154 and do some things. Cris Cyborg can box.”

Cyborg is one of the most decorated female fighters in MMA history. She won championship belts in the UFC, Bellator, Invicta FC and Strikeforce. The 37-year-old has shown interest in a switch to boxing for many years, and she’ll finally get the chance on Sept. 25 in Brazil.

Shields has trained with Cyborg in the past and was very impressed not only by her technique, but how quickly she learned.

“We only sparred one time, I think like four rounds, but she learned a lot, and she adjusts very, very fast,” Shields said. “She asked me some of the best questions that any sparring partner ever asked me because she wanted to understand. And when I explained it to her, it was like her eyes opened up, and she was like, ‘Wow.’ I see that she’s added that to her MMA.”

Claressa Shields talks MMA return, Cris Cyborg’s boxing debut, Amanda Nunes, more

Video: Claressa Shields talks MMA return, Cris Cyborg’s boxing debut, Amanda Nunes and more.

Claressa Shields speoke to MMA Junkie and other media about her upcoming bout against Savannah Marshall on Sept. 10, her return to MMA, Cris Cyborg’s boxing debut, a potential boxing match with Amanda Nunes, and more.

Claressa Shields talks MMA return, Cris Cyborg’s boxing debut, Amanda Nunes, more

Video: Claressa Shields talks MMA return, Cris Cyborg’s boxing debut, Amanda Nunes and more.

Claressa Shields speoke to MMA Junkie and other media about her upcoming bout against Savannah Marshall on Sept. 10, her return to MMA, Cris Cyborg’s boxing debut, a potential boxing match with Amanda Nunes, and more.

Claressa Shields high on Cris Cyborg’s potential in boxing: ‘She can take on some of the top girls’

Claressa Shields reacts to Cris Cyborg’s boxing debut.

[autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] approves of [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag]’s venture into the boxing world.

The multiple world boxing champion thinks Cyborg has what it takes to not only hold her own in the sweet science, but actually fight and beat world-class opposition.

Shields, who returns to the boxing ring against Savannah Marshall on Sept. 10, is high on the decorated MMA fighter. In fact, she hoped Cyborg’s Sept. 25 boxing debut came against an opponent at a higher level than Simone Silva.

“I’ve been able to get inside the ring with Cris and I think she’s good enough to where she doesn’t have to fight somebody that’s 17-14,” Shields told MMA Junkie at a media scrum on Thursday. “I think she can take on some of the top girls. I think Cris Cyborg can beat Jessica McCaskill. I think she can go to 154 and do some things. Cris Cyborg can box.”

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Cyborg is one of the most decorated female fighters in MMA history. She won championship belts in the UFC, Bellator, Invicta FC and Strikeforce. The 37-year-old has shown interest in a switch to boxing for many years, and she’ll finally get the chance on Sept. 25 in Brazil.

Shields has trained with Cyborg in the past and was very impressed not only by her technique, but how quickly she learned.

“We only sparred one time, I think like four rounds, but she learned a lot, and she adjusts very, very fast,” Shields said. “She asked me some of the best questions that any sparring partner ever asked me because she wanted to understand. And when I explained it to her, it was like her eyes opened up, and she was like, ‘Wow.’ I see that she’s added that to her MMA.”

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Claressa Shields on Savannah Marshall: ‘The truth is she’s light-years behind me’

Claressa Shields on Savannah Marshall: “The truth is she’s light-years behind me.”

The only blemish on Claressa Shields’ boxing record happened a decade ago, when Shields was a 17-year-old amateur, but it’s back in the news.

That’s because the two-division professional titleholder will be traveling to face her lone conqueror – Savannah Marshall – on Sept. 10 at O2 Arena in London, England, Marshall’s home country.

Never mind that Shields rebounded from the loss to Marshall in May 2012 by winning a gold medal in the Olympics later that year (while Marshall went out in the quarterfinals) and has become one of the biggest stars in the sport.

The long-ago loss is a hot topic of conversation going into their rematch as professionals, although it’s not as important to Shields as it seems to be to others.

“I only lost in the amateurs in boxing,” Shields said. “I’ve never lost in professional boxing. I’m undefeated. I lost to her 10 years ago in the amateurs by six points. It was 14-8. But that really doesn’t bother me at all because I’ve been able to be successful after that. On the other hand, you’ve got [Marshall], who lost every tournament she was in after our fight, and in those same tournaments I won gold.

“So having one loss in the amateurs and being able to turn pro and do everything that I’ve done since, I don’t really care about (that loss). But I think it’s a great story and storyline, and I guess we’ve got history.”

The fighters have exchanged heated face-to-face trash talk multiple times leading up to the fight, including at a press conference early this month.

However, Shields said Marshall has toned down her rhetoric in subsequent media events, which the American believes is a sign that her rival’s confidence is wavering.

“Marshall has been quiet since the press conference,” Shields said. “She was quiet during our sit together. I was thinking she would have more energy and more spite. But when we were face to face she tucked her tail, and that just showed me right there that she didn’t want this fight. She knows she’s not going to win this fight.

“I saw her do an interview where she had a black eye. So they’ve been trying to put her through all kinds of stuff in sparring to make sure she’s ready. But the truth is she’s lightyears behind me.”

Indeed, Shields doesn’t think much of Marshall’s accomplishments as a professional even though she’s unbeaten, suggesting that the quality of her opponents have a lot to do with her record.

“Marshall has fought a whole bunch of tomato cans,” Shields said. “She might be 12-0 with 10 knockouts, but if you go and look at her record, the majority of those girls had losing records (actually four did).”

She went on: “When we get inside the ring, she hasn’t done this before. She hasn’t fought for an undisputed championship. This will be my third time. So people love to build it up and trash talk, but she’s going to want to talk trash in the ring, and I’m just setting that to the side and focused on training to be better, faster, stronger, sharper and smarter.

“I think she knows that and that she’s in for a tough fight.”

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