Claressa Shields claims Laila Ali doesn’t want the smoke.
With 18 world championships across five different weight classes, there’s no denying that Shields is the undisputed ‘GWOAT’ of women’s boxing. But there’s still one name on her hit list that she can’t seem to cross off, even if it’s not for lack of trying.
That name is none other than Ali, a four-time undefeated world champion and the daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
“She already turned it down, so I don’t even talk about it anymore,” Shields said Ariel Helwani when asked about a long-rumored clash with Ali. “It is what it is. … She said no, fine, that’s OK. OK. It’s other girls who are better than her, who are active, who I can fight against.”
“…I pulled her card. She said no. She might hate documentaries. It is what it is. But your girl just signed for an $8 million, $3 million signing bonus. And I’m excited to get back in the ring and show everyone why I got this big lucrative deal, because I’m that girl and the greatest woman of all time.
“You don’t say no to a fight you want if you want more money, that’s called negotiating. So that’s not there: she doesn’t want to negotiate. She doesn’t want to fight.”
Shields hasn’t been able to lure Ali out of the shadows, but that doesn’t stop her from stacking bodies on top of each other. In February, ‘T-Rex’ became boxing’s first female undisputed heavyweight champion, handily defeating Danielle Perkins in her hometown. Since then, she has successfully defended the crown, earning a unanimous decision win over Lani Daniels in Detroit.
Shields has not yet committed her next fight, but she plans to compete in the first quarter of 2026. The fight will be her first under a new $8 million multi-fight contract she recently signed with Salita Promotions and Wynn Records.
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