Laila Ali and Claressa Shields exchanged some spirited public trash talk. Could it be a precursor to a showdown in the ring?
Claressa Shields has the medals and the belts. Laila Ali has the name.
Shields’ decorated resume and Ali’s legendary name have placed them on opposite sides of a noisy debate, a trash-talking confrontation that Laila’s famous father mastered during a heavyweight reign remembered for Muhammad Ali’s fast hands and faster words.
Shiields says her three division belts and two Olympic gold medals make her the GWOAT (Greatest Woman of All Time). No way, says the daughter of the GOAT (Greatest of All Time).
Laila Ali, now 42, is quick to remind Shields, 24, that she was unbeaten. She went 24-0, scoring 21 knockouts, as a super middleweight between 1999 and 2007. Shields, also unbeaten, has two knockouts in 10 fights.
“First of all, she could never beat me,’’ Ali said late last week on Sway in the Morning, a Sirius XM show featuring talk on music and culture. “Let me get that really straight right now. Not simply because she’s not strong enough, because I would definitely knock her out, because she’s not talented enough.
“You’re talented. You can box. You can throw those hard punches. But there’s a sweet science to boxing. The reason you have not been able to knock out the opponents that you have faced, I can totally see it.”
Shields, never shy, seized on the opportunity to respond, telling TMZ Sunday that Ali built her record against “soccer moms and probably strippers.’’
Shields suggested that women’s boxing has changed. She said she faces real fighters.
“Let’s just keep it honest,’’ said Shields, who defeated Ivana Habazin by a unanimous decision to win a junior middleweight title on Jan. 10. “Don’t say that I’m not talented, because I’m the most talented female fighter there has been in the history of boxing. Laila Ali is all bark, no bite. If a girl call me out, I answer.’’
Shields also urged Laila Ali to make a comeback. Their respective nicknames, “T-Rex” and “She Bee Stingin’”, might look good on a fight poster.
“We can make it happen if she really wants to make it happen,” Shields said.
Shields said the winner would get $10 million and the loser $5 million. But it’s not clear where that money would come from.
Claressa Shields’ manager, Mark Taffet, said the three-division boxing champion could have her first MMA fight before the end of the year.
Claressa Shields’ manager said it’s possible she will have her first cage fight before the end of year.
Mark Taffet told ESPN that he and his client believe the three-division titleholder can continue to box and pursue a second career in Mixed Martial Arts simultaneously.
“There hasn’t been a conversation about moving full time,” Taffet said. “It’s all been a discussion about being the next great two-sport athlete.”
Shields, 24, has trained with MMA stars Cris Cyborg and Kayla Harrison and, according to ESPN, plans to work with UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones next month.
“She got her feet wet athletically, her toe in the water athletically,” Taffet said. “The next step for us would be to look at a few different trainers and coaches and speak to them and then decide who an appropriate coach and trainer would be and then make a plan for her to begin training while she continues to blaze trails in boxing.”
Shields told ESPN last year that she wouldn’t want to enter the octagon unless she trained in MMA for a year.
“Just the stuff that I don’t know, like jiu-jitsu and kicking and all that stuff if I wanted to consider it,” said Shields, who was less serious about the move at the time.
Said Taffet: “Claressa doesn’t put timetables on it because she is carefully and rigorously investigating all aspects of the sport and the organizations. But we would like to do something in the cage at the end of 2020 or surely within 12 months.”
Taffet said he has spoken with all four major promotions – UFC, Bellator, PFL and ONE Championship — about working with Shields but no decisions have been made.
Shields (10-0, 2 KOs) is coming off a one-sided decision victory over Ivana Habazin on Jan. 10. That victory gave her titles in three weight classes in only 10 fights, which is a record regardless of gender.
Claressa Shields’ ability to win titles in three divisions in only 10 fights is historic.
GOOD
One criticism of women’s boxing I hear a lot is that the talent pool isn’t deep. And that problem is particularly prevalent at the higher weights, beginning in the divisions in which Claressa Shields does her thing.
I would respond to that by saying that the depth of talent has improved over the past decade. And I would add that there are a number of excellent fighters at the top.
Those are the opponents Shields has dominated in her short career, including Ivana Habazin on Friday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Shields (10-0, 2 KOs) overwhelemed Habazin (20-4, 7 KOs) to win a near-shutout decision and two vacant junior middleweight titles. That gives her major belts in three divisions in only 10 fights, which is a record regardless of gender. Vasiliy Lomachenko and Kosei Tanaka turned the trick in 12 fights.
The achievement is remarkable. The two-time Olympic champion pursued the best possible opponents from day one and has been nothing short of spectacular.
The question now: Is there anyone who can give Shields a challenge?
The obvious answer would be Cecilia Braekhus, the unbeaten 38-year-old star from Norway who has said she wants to fight Shields. The American would have a natural size advantage – Braekhus is a welterweight – but neither fighter is a big puncher, which means the better boxer probably would win.
Let’s hope it happens. Shields needs a next-level challenge. And women’s boxing needs its superfight.
BAD
Jesse Hart (left) said he fought Joe Smith Jr. with an injured right hand. Mikey Williams / Top Rank
I hate when fighters make excuses – even when they have some legitimacy.
Jesse Hart said after he lost a split decision to Joe Smith Jr. on Saturday night in Atlantic City that he fought with an injured right hand. The orthodox boxer said he suffered the injury in his previous fight, a victory over Sullivan Barrera in June, and aggravated it both during training and early in the fight Saturday.
I’ll take Hart’s word for it. His hand bothered him. And I understand a fighter’s instinct is to explain if he believes an unusual factor played a role in a poor performance.
I also want to give Hart some credit for the manner in which he couched post-fight comments he made to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He said: “I don’t want to make no excuses because Joe fought a great fight. I hurt the hand in my last sparring session and thought I could overcome that. Credit to Joe for doing for what he had to do.”
Hart might not have wanted to make an excuse but he did, which diminishes Smith’s important accomplishment.
Hart chose to fight with a tender hand. It didn’t work out. I wish he had left it at that.
WORSE
Smith (right) dominated Hart but one judge scored the fight for Hart. Mikey Williams / Top Rank
One problem with a bad scorecard is that it can permanently give the wrong impression of a fight. Smith handled Hart easily yet had to settle for a split-decision victory because of a baffling card.
Joseph Pasquale and Eugene Grant scored the fight 98-91 and 97-92, respectively. That reflects what happened in the ring. James Kinney somehow had Hart winning 95-94.
I always ask myself when I see a scorecard that seems out of line: Is there a way it can be justified? For example, maybe several rounds could’ve gone either way. Or maybe a judge rewards one style over another, which can be legitimate sometimes.
In this case, I couldn’t come up with a logical reason to score the fight for Hart. Smith pushed the action from beginning to end. He threw more punches and landed more punches than Hart, including a big edge in power shots, according to both the eye and CompuBox. And Smith put Hart down.
The only edge that Hart had was in jabs and neither fighter threw many of those. The closest the fight should’ve been scored if you give Hart every benefit of the doubt was 96-93 in Smith’s favor. 95-94 – six rounds to four – for Hart is outrageous.
I won’t call for Kinney to be banished from boxing, as Bob Arum, the promoter of both fighters, did.
“That judge should be banned from ever scoring a fight,” Arum said. “He should be investigated and banned. And I promote Hart! I mean, s—, how can you ever score that fight for Jesse Hart? I mean, it’s not even an argument.”
I agree with the investigation part. Kinney has some explaining to do.
Jaron Ennis’ spectacular performance against Bakhtiyar Eyubov on Friday was another example of his unusual ability.
Jaron Ennis wants to lure the top welterweights into the ring. Instead, he might be scaring them away.
Ennis’s annihilation of supposedly capable Bakhtiyar Eyubov – two first-round knockdowns, fourth-round stoppage, utter domination – on the Claressa Shields-Ivana Habazin card Friday in Atlantic City was only the latest sensational performance from the rising young star.
Ennis is now 25-0, with 23 knockdowns. And 13 of those knockdowns have come in his last six fights. Whew.
“We knew he was coming to fight and bring pressure so we mixed it up,” said Ennis, who landed 47 percent of his power shots against Eyubov (14-2-1, 12 KOs). “He was a good fighter but he wasn’t really that strong. I was getting hit a little too much but that’s how we did it to get the knockout. We were just setting him up for power shots. I just had to calm down, that’s all. I was too hyped. Once I calmed down and got into my rhythm that was it.
“He was taking a lot of punishment. He definitely was a great fighter though. I appreciate him taking the fight because a lot of guys don’t want to fight me.”
Why would they?
Ennis is a classic example of great risk with relatively little gain, as he is still building his name and earning power. In other words, he might be too dangerous for the top 147-pounders at the moment.
If he continues to win, particularly in such an impressive manner, they’ll have to fight him eventually. And the Philadelphian has time even if he’s becoming impatient. He’s only 22 years old.
And promotional affiliations shouldn’t be an impediment when the time comes. Ennis is tied to respected manager-turned-promoter Cameron Dunkin, who presumably could work with anyone.
Ennis might not fight a Top 5 welterweight just yet but he’s likely to face a stiffer test next time out, which would be another step toward what seems to be inevitable stardom for the young fighter.
As he’ll tell you, he’s not going anywhere.
“We have been wanting all the guys,” Ennis said. “They keep running. They can’t run no more. I’m right here.”
Claressa Shields defeated Ivana Habazin by a near-shutout 10-round decision to win major titles in a third weight division Friday night.
Claressa Shields has accomplished a great deal in 10 professional fights.
The two-time Olympic champion defeated Ivana Habazin by a near-shutout 10-round decision to win major titles in a third weight division – junior middleweight – Friday night at Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Shields became the fastest to become a three-division champion. Vasiliy Lomachenko did it in 12 fights.
She had previously won titles at super middleweight and then middleweight before moving down to junior middleweight. She still holds the 160-pound title.
“This feels great. I did it in 10 fights,” Shields said. “Now I’m No. 1, the fastest boxer in history to become a three-division world champion.”
Three-division champion Claressa Shields seemingly makes history every time she fights. AP Photo / Matt Rourke
The matchup had generated a lot of attention for the wrong reasons.
Shields (10-0, 2 KOs) was scheduled to make her 154-pound debut against her Croatian rival in August but the fight was postponed after Shields was injured. Then the bout, rescheduled for Oct. 5, was canceled after Habazin’s 68-year-old trainer James Ali Bashir was attacked at the weigh-in the day before the fight. Shields’ brother Artis J. Mack was later arrested on assault charges.
Once the fighters stepped into the ring, however, it wasn’t much of a contest. Shields outboxed, outworked and generally had her way with Habazin (20-4, 7 KOs) from the opening bell.
In the sixth round, a left hook to the body put Habazin down. She was able to get up and continue but, as in the rest of the fight, she landed punches too infrequently to make the fight competitive. She landed only 49 total shots, less than five per round, according to CompuBox.
The judges scored it 100-90, 99-89 and 100-89.
“I just want to become a better fighter,” Shields said. “That’s all. I want to grow women’s boxing. I want to share a card with Deontay Wilder and Errol Spence. Andre Ward said, ‘Sis, take her to the body.’ I was throwing all body shots in the first minute and then boom, she went down.”
Shields has said she plans to give Mixed Martial Arts a try. She might as well. It seems no one in boxing can give her a fight.
In a preliminary bout, rising young welterweight star Jaron Ennis (25-0, 22 KOs) stopped an overmatched Bakhtiyar Eyubov (14-2-1, 12 KOs) 34 seconds into the fourth round of a scheduled 10-round fight.
Ennis battered Eyubov in the opening round, putting the Houston-based Kazakhstani down twice, and never let up. The Philadelphian was pounding his helpless prey when the referee finally decided that he had taken enough punishment and stopped the fight.
Some thought this would be Ennis’ biggest test. If that was a test, the other 147-pounders should be on notice.
Claressa Shields said people will forget about Ivana Habazin after she knocks out the Croatian on Friday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Claressa Shields is fighting to move on. Fighting to forget, too.
Shields gets that chance Friday against Ivana Habazin in a junior middleweight bout that was rescheduled after a brawl as ugly as any in 2019 at a weigh-in on Oct. 4, the day before they were supposed to fight in Flint, Michigan, Shields’ hometown.
Four months later, they have moved on to a new day and a new zip code, Atlantic City, New Jersey. They fight on Showtime.
“Everyone who was in Flint and knows about the incident that happened knows it’s not something I have a history of doing,’’ Shields (9-0, 2 KOs) said Tuesday at news conference in New York. “I don’t do stuff outside the ring.’’
“I’ve been thinking about this since October and I have more of an incentive now given what happened,” Habazin (20-3, 7 KOs) said. “I feel like I’m fighting for James Ali Bashir, as well as for my own pride and respect. I’m also fighting for my country. I want to make Croatia proud that I am their daughter, and I feel that I now have their full support.’’
There’s also incentive for Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who has never been shy about what she thinks of herself or her opposition. She called herself the GWOAT – the greatest woman of all time – on Tuesday. She also expressed her contempt for Habazin.
“One of the things she said that was really disrespectful was that I didn’t make weight for October 4,’’ Shields said. “Don’t believe the lies. I made 154 pounds and I’m going to be a three-division world champion come Friday. Ivana doesn’t stand a chance.
“I’m sorry, I’m just going to keep it real. She’s not as skilled as Christina Hammer. She worked her way up, but once a quitter, always a quitter.
“Once the fight is over, she’s going to be a blast from the past. They won’t be talking about the incident in Flint. They may remember it, but her? They won’t even remember her name after I beat her down on Friday.”
Claressa Shields has remained fit in spite of two postponements leading up to her showdown with Ivana Habazin on Jan. 20.
Claressa Shields had an unusual year in 2019, one marked by both success and tumult.
The two-time Olympic champion started off well, easily outpointing Christina Hammer in a battle of unbeaten middleweights in April. Little did she know that she wouldn’t fight again last year.
She was scheduled to make her 154-pound debut against her Croatian rival in August but the fight was postponed after Shields was injured. Then the fight, rescheduled for Oct. 5, was canceled after Habazin’s 68-year-old trainer James Ali Bashir was attacked at the weigh-in the day before the fight. Shields’ brother Artis J. Mack was later arrested on assault charges.
Habazin (20-3, 7 KOs) still wanted the fight, however. So here are again: The two are scheduled to fight on Jan. 10 at Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City on Showtime.
Shields (9-0, 2 KOs) is eager to have a big 2020.
Claressa Shields (left) and Ivana Habazin are pictured at a news conference last August. They’ll finally fight on Jan. 10. AP Photo / Carlos Osorio
“I really have just one main resolution for the new year – no compromising,” Shields said. “That goes for both my personal and professional life. I also want to get closer to God and stay undefeated. I was going to say stop cursing also, but that’s just not happening.”
Shields, who trains with coach John David Jackson in Miami, evidently has not compromised on her conditioning.
She has remained active in spite of what amounts to two postponements leading up to Jan. 10. That included not going home to Flint, Michigan, for the holidays. Her focus has been on maintaining her dominance in the ring.
“I made 154 pounds back in October before the cancellation,” said Shields. “After our fight was cancelled, I stayed active and only put on about 10 pounds. I’ve been down in Florida for the last six or seven weeks. It’s been hard work. I’ve pushed myself and I’m not taking Habazin lightly. I want the knockout because Ivana talks too much. I’m staying focused on being focused, and not letting anyone throw me off by talking nonsense.
“I don’t eat meat anymore. I haven’t in over three months, so my body is more toned now. I actually have a six-pack already with just a little more weight to lose. I think people are going to be surprised at the 154-pound version of me. I’m going to be very strong and very fast because I’ve basically had five months to prepare and to get ready for her specifically.”
And she doesn’t regret her decision to stay in Florida during the holidays.
“I saved a lot of money by not going home for Christmas, that’s for sure,” he said. “But I still spoke with all my family and connected with everyone. I have a very strict diet in camp and I actually trained on Christmas. I consider my diet more of a life plan in general, and I have my days where I’ll splurge, but I stay disciplined.”
Claressa Shields and Ivana Habazin will fight on Jan. 10, nearly three months after Habazin’s trainer was injured in a weigh-in altercation.
Claressa Shields and Ivana Habazin will fight on Jan. 10 in Atlantic City, nearly three months after their scheduled matchup was canceled following a violent altercation at the weigh-in.
The bout had been scheduled for Oct. 5 in Flint, Michigan, Shields’ hometown, but it was pulled off a Showtime-televised card after Habazin trainer James Ali Bashir was injured by punches on the day before opening bell.
Bashir was hospitalized with reported facial fractures. A few days after the incident, he returned to the hospital with a brain bleed, according to a Facebook post from Habazin.
Artis Mack, Shields’ brother, was arraigned on an assault charge in Michigan’s Genesee District Court on October 17 for allegedly throwing the punches. Mack, 28, pleaded not guilty.
Shields (9-0, 2 knockouts), a two-time Olympic gold medalist, hoped that the junior middleweight fight would be rescheduled. She and Habazin (20-3, 7 KOs), of Croatia, were initially scheduled to meet on August 17. That date was shelved when Shields suffered a knee injury.
James Ali Bashir was hospitalized as a result of punches he took at the Claressa Shields-Ivana Habizin weigh-in last month. Stephanie Trapp / Showtime
“My goal is to become three-division champ faster than any man or woman in history,” said Shields, who already has won middleweight and super-middleweight belts. “This is a very significant fight for both of us. We have both trained really hard twice and great opportunities await the winner, so hopefully three times is the charm.”
Habazin says she is motivated for the fight because of what happened in Flint.
“I’ve been thinking about this since October, and I have more of an incentive now, given what happened,” Habazin said. “I feel like I’m fighting for James Ali Bashir, as well as for my own pride and respect.’’
