Women’s boxing great Claressa Shields was on hand at UFC 245 to hype up a potential showdown with UFC double-champ Amanda Nunes — in both boxing and MMA.
Las Vegas, NV — Boxing champ Claressa Shields has been at the center of some interesting UFC rumors of late.
A multi-weight, multi-title boxer who is also an Olympic gold medalist, Shields has been linked to a fight with Amanda Nunes. While MMA rumors are what they are, especially when it comes to boxing crossovers, there’s a little more to the Shields-Nunes talk. Exhibit A: Dana White confirmed there had been talks. Exhibit B: Shields appeared backstage at UFC 245 in Las Vegas on Saturday, to talk about the proposed fight.
Or fights, perhaps.
“She is the GOAT in MMA, and I’m the GOAT in boxing,” Shields said of UFC double-champ Nunes and herself. “It would be one of the biggest matches in boxing history. I think that you’ve never seen two women who are young, in their prime, and hungry, who just don’t want to lose.”
“I think me and her facing each other would be one of those fights where people would really see fireworks and stuff like that,” she added.
While her manager and UFC President Dana White have been in talks for a while, Shields said, the idea came to her a year ago. “After Amanda beat Cris Cyborg, it crossed my mind. But then you have all these questions. Are you going to go to MMA, do you want to bring her to boxing?”
“Of course to me, boxing is my passion. I would love to do it in a ring,” Shields admitted. “But I’m also a fair person. I’m fair game. If she comes in my world, I’d be more than welcome to come in her world.”
The idea, then, would be to do a boxing match and an MMA fight. As for a time frame, “mid next year, end of next year. An MMA match could happen a year after that.”
Once a deal gets done, said Shields, she just needs time to get ready. “I’m not talking about six months or a year, but actually give me time where I have a chance,” she said. “I feel like I have a chance now, but once we go to the ground and stuff, I have to learn that.”
Could this turn out to be the women’s equivalent of Mayweather vs. McGregor? Should Nunes defeat Germaine de Randamie it certainly feels like a possibility.
Watch the full press scrum with Claressa Shields from UFC 245 above!
