Claressa Shields is widely regarded as the greatest female fighter of all time, becoming a two-time Olympic gold medallist before cementing her remarkable legacy in professional boxing.
Astonishingly, the 29-year-old comes off an emphatic second-round stoppage over Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, claiming the unified heavyweight championship after becoming a two-division undisputed queen.
Unlike men’s boxing, though, Shields’ heavyweight debut was fought at 175 lbs. But still, considering that she was campaigning at super welterweight not long ago, the achievement is nonetheless truly extraordinary.
Even so, the American seemingly remains eager to prove, without a shadow of doubt, that she is the Greatest Woman of All Time (‘GWOAT’).
Claressa Shields looks to take on Cris Cyborg in a professional boxing match
Following her incredible victory over Amanda Serrano on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, Katie Taylor is perhaps the only fighter who can challenge Shields’ ‘GWOAT’ status.
The Irishwoman, too, has become a two-division undisputed champion, and yet, even at the age of 38, she continues to decorate her scintillating career with more accolades.
Shields, meanwhile, still has plenty of time to enhance her greatness, and has even dipped her toe into the world of MMA.
‘T-Rex’ made her professional debut with the PFL, a rising MMA promotion, back in 2021, amassing a record of 2-1.
But now, she has been called out by former UFC champion Cris Cyborg, who has challenged her combat sports rival to a showdown with no weight limit.
In response, Shields wrote on X that she would be happy to put her titles on the line in a boxing match at either 154 lbs or 160 lbs, calling for Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh to make the fight happen.
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Cris Cyborg wants to fight Claressa Shields in the cage
Cyborg weighed in at 144 lbs for her last outing, putting her at a major size disadvantage in a potential matchup against Shields.
And yet, the 39-year-old has now insisted that she will only agree to an open weight clash in MMA.
“We literally have the same MMA promoter,” she wrote on X. “I don’t even walk at 160 pounds. If you want to fight boxing get off the cookies and chips and make 147 [lbs] – it could all be so simple but you’d rather duck competition.
“If you can’t cut the weight then show up a sloppy 175 lbs to the cage.”
It is worth mentioning, too, that Cyborg has since changed her profile picture to a duck with Shiels’ face.