‘I Can Beat All the Girls in Boxing’- Claressa Shields

Boxing ace turned MMA fighter Claressa Shields spoke to ‘TheMacLife’ ahead of her MMA debut on June 10. ‘T-Rex’ Shields takes on Brittney Elkin at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City in a bout that has fans excited. Elkin is on a skid and fans expect Shields to put on a clinical showcase under the PFL promotional banner.

Shields has accomplished a lot in boxing and has been flirting with the idea of making a run in MMA for a while now. She trains out of Jackson-Wink in New Mexico with Jon Jones and Holly Holm being principle training partners. Chiefly, Claressa Shields has major potential to make her mark in MMA as she definitely has the stand-up skills to cause problems.

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Claressa Shields: Making her mark across sports

Shields told Oscar Willis from ‘TheMacLife’ that her move into MMA was inspired by the fact that she had succeeded in her boxing goals. However, she felt that she wasn’t able to break into the boxing box office and receive the acclaim she deserved. MMA is a sport booming in popularity and break-out stars are born ever-so often.

“I was 25 when I signed the contract for the PFL and I’ve accomplished everything in boxing. I call myself the GWOAT- and that’s the greatest woman of all time and I feel like I’ve done everything in boxing to prove that. But with being the GWOAT, it didn’t come with the million-dollar checks, it didn’t come with the endorsement deals, sponsorships. It didn’t really come with the respect from the network so I was like ‘What else is there for me to do in boxing?’.”

“I’m a twelve-time world champ, I’m two-time undisputed, three-time division world champion. What else can I do to get to the million-dollar check in boxing and it was like it doesn’t matter what you do cause look at what you’ve done and it’s still not there.”

Will ‘T-Rex’ Shields’ youth favor her MMA run?

Additionally, Claressa Shields explained that she wanted to be known as someone who could dominate in both boxing and MMA. Usually, transitions take place towards the end of a fighter’s career. However, ‘T-Rex’ was keen to make things work while time was still on her side.

“With the opportunity in MMA, I can add more to my GWOAT-ness. What other female fighter can say she can possibly become the MMA champ and be the boxing champ at the same time…Why waste the body? Why waste time? And my overall goal is to be MMA champ and boxing champ at the same time…Because I can beat all the girls in boxing, just keeping it real. But can you add the MMA part and that’s where I have to use my youth wisely”

Claressa Shields’ debut fight on June 10 will be a good litmus test of Claressa Shields’ ceiling as a high-caliber fighter. Chiefly, she’s managed to capture the attention of fighters and fans alike and will hope to check the required boxes in MMA.

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