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Claressa Shields is no stranger to making boxing history. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, she became the sport’s first two-division undisputed champion, male or female. It seems she has no intention of stopping there. The Flint, Michigan-born champion may now be aiming for the unprecedented achievement of becoming an undisputed champion in a third division.

Shields, who returned to MMA in February last year, surprised everyone with a move to the light heavyweight/heavyweight division. She fought Vanessa Lepage Joanisse for the WBO light heavyweight and WBC and WBF heavyweight titles. Latest reports suggest the five-division champion will begin the year with a title defense. Scheduled on February 2, she will face the Brooklyn-born heavyweight fighter Danielle Perkins. If Shields wins the fight, she could claim the historic undisputed title in the division and achieve a feat comparable to Oleksandr Usyk‘s, who ended a 25-year drought among men. But is the road so easy for Claressa Shields?Claressa Shields

Claressa Shields is close to achieving a historic milestone

Sharing a few details about the tickets, Claressa Shields sounded excited about her return to the ring this February. “I’LL BE FIGHTING IN MY HOMETOWN OF FLINT, MI, ON FEB 2nd AT @dortfinancialcenter! Get your tickets now on Etix.com!” she said in her Instagram post.

Professional boxer, Claressa Shields, is known to be one of the “Greatest Women Of All Time” in the sport with her exceptional boxing skills and talent. But, outside of the ring, Shields is also making a name for herself in other avenues. While the 29-year-old is constantly busy dominating many fields, she still makes time to address pressing issues and never shies away from a fight, whether online or in the ring.

In her most recent spill, Shields took to Twitter to share her opinions on the lack of support for her biopic, “The Fire Inside.” In her post, Shields mentioned that only two other female champions in the industry have publicly supported the film and claimed the other women in boxing are “hating” on her.

READ MORE;Claressa Shields: ‘Fire Inside’ puts more pressure on upcoming fight

“So let’s talk about it! A whole biopic about my life & my journey in boxing but only 2 female champions have said anything about it! But y’all love to call me a hater! FOh! These girls been hating on me! That’s why I shine so bright AND Still! GOD GONNA ALWAYS DO HIS BIG ONE FOR ME!,” she wrote.

The Fire Inside” was released on Christmas Day and outlines Shields’ rise from humble beginnings to becoming one of the most talented female fighters in the game. The biopic stars actress Ryan Destiny and has already made waves, earning a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Meanwhile, boxer Regis Prograis congratulated Shields on the biopic.  Basketball legend Dawn Staley also spoke highly of “The Fire Inside,” calling it a must-see.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 24 (UPI) — Boxer-turned-MMA champion Claressa Shields said the new movie about her life, The Fire Inside, in theaters Wednesday, puts more pressure on her to win her February bout.

The film stars Ryan Destiny as Shields, who became the first American female Olympic gold medalist in boxing in 2012. Shields transitioned into MMA in 2020, but will box against Danielle Perkins on Feb. 2.

On the line in this homecoming bout will be Shields’ WBC heavyweight title and WBO heavyweight title, and she’ll also compete for the vacant WBA title. She has a 15-0 professional boxing record, including three knockouts.

“Who wants to have a biopic about their great life and their great story come out and then lose a fight with all these new fans?” Shields, 29, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

READ MORE;Movie Review: Boxer Claressa Shields’ story is told in ‘The Fire Inside’

“To have a biopic come out about your life while you’re the No. 1 woman fighter in the world, it adds a little pressure to your plate,” she said

The film begins in 2006, when an 11-year-old Claressa (Jazmin Headley, with Kylee D. Allen for running scenes) walks into a Flint, Mich., gym. Coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) agrees to train her.

By 2011, 16-year-old Claressa (Ryan Destiny) is a contender for USA Boxing’s female Olympic team. Shields confirmed the film’s training montages reflected her real preparations.

“In the ring, running, push-ups, the crunches, punching the bag, hitting the pads, it was a great training montage,” Shields said. “She did very well.”

Destiny sought Shields’ advice over Zoom, particularly in how to cope with soreness after exhausting training and boxing scenes. Shields told her to rest.

“Go and get a massage, ice bath, hot bath, rest, drink some water,” Shields said. “It’s OK to recover. I think a lot of athletes should do more recovery.”

After winning the gold medal in 2012, Shields still struggled financially. She was not winning endorsement deals like male athletes, and USA Boxing paid female fighters less than their male counterparts.

Shields has been an advocate for pay equality in sports, specifically boxing, bringing it up whenever she can in interviews. She said she’s pleased the pay gap is closing, but feels there is more work to do.

“I try to let other girls know what I’ve learned and give them the blueprint to where they can make millions of dollars being professional women fighters,” she said

The film did take some artistic license with Shields’ post-Olympic struggles. A scene in which she tries to pawn her gold medal never happened, but Shields said it reflected her frustration that winning the gold did not alleviate her financial struggles.

“I locked it in a drawer for a long time,” Shields said. “I considered throwing it in the Flint River because Muhammed Ali threw his gold medal in the Ohio River.”

Shields said watching The Fire Inside made her emotional and brought back memories of struggles that were not included in the film. The film does touch on Shields’ volatile relationship with her mother (Olunike Adeliyi), going hungry as a child, coping with a loss in the ring and more.

“Seeing how hungry we were when I was a kid, it showed it only two times in the scenes, but it was all the time,” Shields said. “I remember everything else that was going on in my life at that time and it makes me very emotional.”

The film ends in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics. Even in 2024, Shields said she feels like she still has more work to do, like defend her belts in February and win more.

She said her transition to MMA made her feel complete, as well as humbled being thrown to the ground. Shields also learned how to get back up and resist arm bars and other MMA moves.

“I am a complete fighter now,” Shields said. “I was already the best woman fighter in the world in boxing, but now I feel like I can go to the other side and do some damage, too.”

There will be no holiday break for Shields when The Fire Inside opens. She will train for the Perkins fight, and didn’t even let interviews interrupt her regimen.

“I just trained this morning,” Shields said. “I have to. I am eight weeks out from the fight and I have to perform.”

“The Fire Inside,” about boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, is not your standard inspirational sports drama, even if it feels like it for the first half of the movie.

There’s the hopeless dream, the difficult home life, the blighted community, the devoted coach, the training montages, the setbacks and, against all odds, the win. We’ve seen this kind of story before, you might think, and you’d be right. But then the movie pulls the rug out from under you: The victory is not the end. “The Fire Inside,” directed by Rachel Morrison and written by Barry Jenkins, is as much about what happens after the win. It’s not always pretty or inspirational, but it is truthful, and important.

Sports dramas can be just as cliche as fairy tales, with the gold medal and beautiful wedding presented as a happy ending. We buy into it time and time again for obvious reasons, but the idea of a happy ending at all, or even an ending, is almost exclusively for the audience. We walk away content that someone has found true love or achieved that impossible goal after all that work. For the subject, however, it’s a different proposition; Life, and all its mundanities, disappointments and hardships, continues after all. And in the world of sports, that high moment often comes so young that it might be easy to look at the rest of the journey as a disappointing comedown.

READ MORE:Claressa Shields: ‘Fire Inside’ puts more pressure on upcoming fight

Claressa Shields, played by Ryan Destiny in the film, was only 17 when she went to the 2012 London Olympics. Everything was stacked against her, including the statistics: No American woman had ever won an Olympic gold medal in the sport before. Her opponents had years on her. She was still navigating high school in Flint, Michigan, and things on the home front were volatile and lacking. Food was sometimes scarce as was consistent parental care. Her mother (Olunike Adeliyi) even kicks her out of the home at one point. But Claressa has a savior on her side in the form of her coach, Jason Crutchfield, played by Bryan Tyree Henry, whose calming presence signals to her and the audience that she’s in good hands.

Coach Crutchfield is the one who gives an 11-year-old Claressa a shot in the first place and sticks with her through everything. And she can be a lot to handle, especially post-Olympics when reality comes crashing down. She might have a little more money and the pride of her hometown behind her, but the sponsors are not calling. The male athletes in that 2012 class seem to have skyrocketed to wealth, while she’s thinking about pawning her medal to afford groceries and diapers for her sister’s baby. And she’s not handling it well, or at least how people think a young woman should handle such inequalities. That titular fire inside is in danger of fizzling out before she’s even reached 20 and she’s wondering what it was all for in the first place.

Olympian Claressa Shields visits the USA House in London before leaving for her home in Flint, Mich. Shields was greeted by a marching band and a motorcycle escort in her hometown.

 

This is the truth of so many Olympic athletes, and professionals as well, that no one really wants to talk about. That glory is guaranteed to be short lived, probably without a multimillion-dollar deal, and then you just have to figure out what to do with the rest of your life. There are only so many commentator jobs out there.

Morrison is a celebrated cinematographer known for “Black Panther,” “Fruitvale Station” and “Mudbound,” making her feature debut as a director. And it’s a promising one, full of beautiful shots, unexpected choices and rousing fights inside the ring, anchored by a thoughtful, engaging script and compelling lead performances. “The Fire Inside” isn’t afraid to show the uglier sides of this journey, even if it makes Claressa “unlikable” for a moment.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 24 (UPI) — Boxer-turned-MMA champion Claressa Shields said the new movie about her life, The Fire Inside, in theaters Wednesday, puts more pressure on her to win her February bout.

The film stars Ryan Destiny as Shields, who became the first American female Olympic gold medalist in boxing in 2012. Shields transitioned into MMA in 2020, but will box against Danielle Perkins on Feb. 2.

On the line in this homecoming bout will be Shields’ WBC heavyweight title and WBO heavyweight title, and she’ll also compete for the vacant WBA title. She has a 15-0 professional boxing record, including three knockouts.

READ MORE:Claressa Shields hits back at Savannah Marshall: ‘You can’t beat me in anything!’…

“Who wants to have a biopic about their great life and their great story come out and then lose a fight with all these new fans?” Shields, 29, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

“To have a biopic come out about your life while you’re the No. 1 woman fighter in the world, it adds a little pressure to your plate,” she said

The film begins in 2006, when an 11-year-old Claressa (Jazmin Headley, with Kylee D. Allen for running scenes) walks into a Flint, Mich., gym. Coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) agrees to train her.

By 2011, 16-year-old Claressa (Ryan Destiny) is a contender for USA Boxing’s female Olympic team. Shields confirmed the film’s training montages reflected her real preparations.

“In the ring, running, push-ups, the crunches, punching the bag, hitting the pads, it was a great training montage,” Shields said. “She did very well.”

Destiny sought Shields’ advice over Zoom, particularly in how to cope with soreness after exhausting training and boxing scenes. Shields told her to rest.

22 June 2022; Claressa Shields, Boxer & Olympian, Professional Fighters League, on Sportstrade Stage, Fight club: Blood, sweat and tears, during day two of Collision 2022 at Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Collision via Sportsfile

“Go and get a massage, ice bath, hot bath, rest, drink some water,” Shields said. “It’s OK to recover. I think a lot of athletes should do more recovery.”

After winning the gold medal in 2012, Shields still struggled financially. She was not winning endorsement deals like male athletes, and USA Boxing paid female fighters less than their male counterparts.

Shields has been an advocate for pay equality in sports, specifically boxing, bringing it up whenever she can in interviews. She said she’s pleased the pay gap is closing, but feels there is more work to do.

“I try to let other girls know what I’ve learned and give them the blueprint to where they can make millions of dollars being professional women fighters,” she said.

The film did take some artistic license with Shields’ post-Olympic struggles. A scene in which she tries to pawn her gold medal never happened, but Shields said it reflected her frustration that winning the gold did not alleviate her financial struggles.

“I locked it in a drawer for a long time,” Shields said. “I considered throwing it in the Flint River because Muhammed Ali threw his gold medal in the Ohio River.”

Shields said watching The Fire Inside made her emotional and brought back memories of struggles that were not included in the film. The film does touch on Shields’ volatile relationship with her mother (Olunike Adeliyi), going hungry as a child, coping with a loss in the ring and more.

“Seeing how hungry we were when I was a kid, it showed it only two times in the scenes, but it was all the time,” Shields said. “I remember everything else that was going on in my life at that time and it makes me very emotional.”

The film ends in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics. Even in 2024, Shields said she feels like she still has more work to do, like defend her belts in February and win more.

She said her transition to MMA made her feel complete, as well as humbled being thrown to the ground. Shields also learned how to get back up and resist arm bars and other MMA moves.

“I am a complete fighter now,” Shields said. “I was already the best woman fighter in the world in boxing, but now I feel like I can go to the other side and do some damage, too.”

There will be no holiday break for Shields when The Fire Inside opens. She will train for the Perkins fight, and didn’t even let interviews interrupt her regimen.

“I just trained this morning,” Shields said. “I have to. I am eight weeks out from the fight and I have to perform.”

I don’t always agree with Claressa Shields, but this time, she is right.

JUST IN: Claressa Shields Has No Doubt Who Wins Canelo vs Terence Crawford: “He Has That Knockout Power”…

Shields recently took aim at ESPN for leaving her off an esteemed list of female athletes, and I see her point. The graphic aired on ESPN on Friday, and it recognized Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and Caitlin Clark as trailblazers in women’s sports. ESPN made an error by not including Shields in the graphic.

Claressa Shields VS Katie Taylor

Never too shy to express her opinion, Shields didn’t let the omission slide. She took to social media to question the network’s approach and share her resume. Shields posted an image of herself with all her title belts and Olympic gold medals.

In the text portion of the post, she listed her top accomplishments as a boxer. “Wow @espn Y’all have really lost yall mind!!!!! Do I have to run my resume down to y’all!!! 2x Olympic champ 🥇 🥇 3x Undisputed champ 5 weight world champion 15x world champ WOMENS BOXING Trailblazer”

Shields has been fighting for women’s boxing and her own brand to receive the attention and respect she feels it deserves but has been lacking. Shields has even ventured into mixed martial arts to achieve fame and the paydays her male counterparts wouldn’t have to pursue.

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SEE MORE: Ryan Garcia sets social media on fire and proposes to Claressa Shields that they have a ‘superhuman baby’…

The size of the audience is the real factor. When stars begin to show up, the audiences will grow. It’s really that simple. We have seen this with Clark and her impact on the WNBA. Perhaps ESPN is saying Shields has not impacted the viewership for women’s boxing on a level comparable to Clark and the WNBA, Williams in women’s tennis, Biles in women’s gymnastics, and Ledecky in women’s swimming.

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova

You could argue that all those outstanding athletes had a predecessor who laid the groundwork for them on every level. In any case, ESPN omitting Shields from this list likely aligns with the other forms of disrespect she believes she has endured throughout her career.

As I said, I don’t always agree with Shields’ cries for respect and attention, but she deserves to be on this list. It’s odd timing for ESPN in one respect as the network is set to broadcast a boxing event on Friday night, headlined by one of the most prominent female boxing stars in the past 10 years, Mikaela Mayer.

The 34-year-old Colorado Springs native will have her second chance to win a welterweight title as she challenges Sandy Ryan in the main event of a card emanating from Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. The card is co-headlined by Puerto Rican boxing sensation Xander Zayas and features rising star Bruce “Shoo Shoo” Carrington.

The network is honoring women’s boxing on a fight weekend that also features women’s world championship fights in Atlanta, with Alycia Baumgardner defending her undisputed super featherweight title against Delfine Persoon and Rhiannon Dixon defending her title against perennial contender Terri Harper on Saturday.

With so much attention being paid to women’s boxing this weekend and coverage increasing overall, it’s easier to understand why Shields would feel slighted personally and on behalf of women’s boxing. While women like Laila Ali, Christy Martin, and Holly Holm were making waves in boxing before Shields, no one has taken it to the level the self-proclaimed GWOAT has in their career.

I would love to have seen Shields wait for someone else to ask how she was left off this list. As it is, I still agree with the concept and wonder if ESPN might consider shrinking the font size and adding a panel to hold a spot for Shields.

RELATED: “Scary” News Forces Claressa Shields to Make Desperate Plea for Family and Her Own “Sanity”….

Terence Crawford is looking to move up two divisions to challenge Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez.

Both future Hall of Famers, Crawford and Canelo are four-weight world champions each coming to the final chapter of their career. For Crawford, the final legacy-defining bout is against the Mexican, who currently holds three of the four major belts at 168 pounds.

Claressa Shields

JUST IN: “Scary” News Forces Claressa Shields to Make Desperate Plea for Family and Her Own “Sanity”….

Speaking to Sean Zittel, five-weight world champion Claressa Shields backed Crawford should it happen.

“I think the last few fights I’ve seen Canelo slow down a little bit … Team Crawford, me. It’s gonna be a good one, but Canelo, he’s number two pound-for-pound. Pound-for-pound number one is Crawford, and that’s skill wise.”

When told that Canelo had warned Crawford there are weight classes for a reason, Shields used her own recent winning experience at heavyweight having won titles as low as super-welterweight as a rebuttal.

Canelo Alvarez VS Edgar Berlanga

SEE MORE: Ryan Garcia sets social media on fire and proposes to Claressa Shields that they have a ‘superhuman baby’…

“Oh that’s beautiful. I’m all the way a heavyweight. That’s because I got the skills, the power and everything to pay the bills. Terence Crawford’s got the skills to pay the bills, the knockout power. He’s very smart in there. And he’s sturdy. Now the weight class can matter a little bit, but boxing matters.”

It’s understood that Canelo will receive an offer now that neither man has a fight coming up. Whether or not he takes it remains to be seen, and he is demanding big money. Having just come off another title defence against Edgar Berlanga, he has shown interest in moving back up to light-heavyweight to rematch Dmitry Bivol.

There are some in the sport that believe Crawford may retire if he doesn’t land the fight, although the man himself recently hinted that he would continue on.

RELATED: Savannah Marshall targets Claressa Shields fight in cage as she gears up for MMA debut…

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Claressa Shields is still undecided on whether she will remain at heavyweight after she takes on Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on Saturday night, but she is open to staying in the division and becoming undisputed champ if she can get the major fights to happen.

Claressa Shields VS Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

JUST IN: Savannah Marshall targets Claressa Shields fight in cage as she gears up for MMA debut…

“My goals that I have for boxing are way bigger than what everyone else can see. Everybody wants me to retire right now. I’m about to have 15 world titles, be a four-time division champion, and they’re like what else can you do? But for me, it’s plenty more you can do,” she told ESPN at the Detroit Lions’ training camp, where she visited Thursday. “There’s always going to be somebody to fight unless all the girls in the world are like, ‘Look Claressa, we’re just not fighting you,’ but that’s not going to happen because all of these girls are competitive, and they want to prove themselves. So, I’m always going to have a fight.”

Shields, the self-proclaimed GWOAT (“Greatest Woman Of All Time”), is moving up to heavyweight in an attempt to win a world title in a fourth weight class.

Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) is the current WBC heavyweight champion. The vacant WBO heavyweight title will also be on the line Saturday at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Shields (14-0, 2 KOs) doesn’t anticipate the fight to go the distance. It is set for 10 rounds.

“I am predicting a KO. … But with this one, fighting at heavyweight, if you want to go with Round 5, you can go with Round 5, and if you’re feeling lucky, you can bet on Round 7,” Shields told ESPN. “She’s supposed to be the heavyweight, but I think that

her underestimating me is why the fight will actually end in a knockout because she’s not expecting me to hit as hard as I hit and that’s what I like.”

DAN CAMPBELL VS CLARESSA SHIELDS

SEE MORE: Andre Berto and Andre Ward Rally Behind Claressa Shields Against “Blatant Disrespect” From “Grown Men”….

Shields will be entering the ring for the first time in over 13 months, when she defended her undisputed middleweight titles with a decision win over Maricela Cornejo at 160 pounds on June 3, 2023.

Although she is ranked No. 1 on the ESPN women’s pound-for-pound list and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, the 29-year-old doesn’t feel that her greatness is truly appreciated among fans.

“I worry about appreciating me. And I do,” Shields said. “I feel like I haven’t got my utmost respect yet, but I know that I respect myself and I know that

everything I’ve accomplished has been off grit and hard work and nobody can take that away from me.

“I think that it’s getting close to being appreciated. Right now, I can’t focus on who appreciates it and who don’t,” she said. “I’ve got to make sure that I appreciate my greatness. I think that people look for too much validation from other people. I feel like if you live by the compliments you will die by the insults. We all know that fans are up and down.”

During her visit at training camp, Shields shared boxing tips with All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown as he walked off the practice field.

She was challenged to a sparring session by rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold. She also received a pep talk from coach Dan Campbell and posed for pictures with her numerous world title belts alongside owner Sheila Ford Hamp at the newly named Meijer Performance Center.

RELATED: “Scary” News Forces Claressa Shields to Make Desperate Plea for Family and Her Own “Sanity”….

Claressa Shields might have some trouble involving her family. The American boxer is still in a state of shock and is processing the news she received. While she has clarified no situation or specified the incident, she seems to be in a worrying state.

JUST IN: Savannah Marshall targets Claressa Shields fight in cage as she gears up for MMA debut…

Claressa Shields VS Alycia Baumgardner

Shields, 29, turned to her X handle and asked for prayers from the fans, as she disclosed that she was lucky to have sanity prevail over her senses. In addition, she banked her faith in God and even asked her fans to rally behind her and pray for her family. But the fans might have to wait for a while before the two-division undisputed champion discloses the incident to them.

Shields, at 15-0, wrote, “I thank God for my sanity…. Just received some scary news…. Just pray for my family…. God going to work it out. I know he will 🙏🏾”

Notably, Shields is promoting her upcoming biopic, ‘The Fire Inside,’ which tells her story of picking up boxing gloves, becoming an Olympic champion at 17, and then dominating the professional boxing landscape. The project, due to release in December, also sheds light on her personal life, giving a peep into her tumultuous family, as she hoped to become a boxer in her early days.

SEE MORE: Claressa Shields hits back at Savannah Marshall: ‘You can’t beat me in anything!’…

Katie Taylor VS Claressa Shields

With a recent win over Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, ‘GWOAT’ has also clinhed the heavyweight title, and looks set to solidify her place in both the heavyweight and middleweight divisions. However, she has her eyes set on defeating the best that boxing has to offer.

Claressa Shields throws the gauntlet for the ‘GWOAT’ crown

Before she took on Lepage-Joanisse, Shields issued an open challenge to the likes of Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor. The Flint native declared, “Any of those girls who want to be the GWOAT, all you got to do is make the fight with me. Alycia Baumgardner, Amanda Serrano, Katie Taylor – all you got to do is make the fight with me. Then I can show you, you’re not the GWOAT.”

However, there are weight constraints in making these fights, and therefore, these fights seem a distant reality to boxing fans. But that doesn’t put an end to Shields’ ambitions, as she also had her PLF exploits to show up for.

What do you make of this comment by Claressa Shields? Let us know in the comments below.

RELATED: Ryan Garcia sets social media on fire and proposes to Claressa Shields that they have a ‘superhuman baby’…

FLINT, Mich. (WJRT) – On Thursday night, Flint boxer Ardreal Holmes Jr. (15-0-0, 6 KOs) will take center stage as the main event in his hometown.

JUST IN: Flint boxer Claressa Shields will fight for heavyweight title next month in Detroit…

“Huge blessing,” Holmes Jr. said. “Just total excitement. Just ready to deliver and execute.”

Holmes Jr. will put his undefeated record on the line against Cuban boxer Hugo Noriega (10-2-0, 5 KOs) in the main event of the BIG TIME BOXING USA fight card at the Dort Center on Thursday, November 12.

 

The card features Holmes and a host of Flint boxers who grew up training at Berston Field House, including Holmes’ younger brother Jaquan McElroy, Leon Lawson III and Chris Thompson.

“You know how you listen to a song and get chills through your body? It’s the same feeling,” Lawson III said

Claressa Shields

“It’s home,” McElroy said. “You feel comfortable at home. That’s the feeling I’m getting.”

SEE MORE: Claressa Shields Drops 3-Word Note for Anthony Edwards as His Special Role in Mayweather Fight Is Revealed…

15-time world champion Claressa Shields was on hand at the open media workout at Berston, helping Holmes Jr. prepare for his fight. The two have known each other since they were kids. Shields says she has tremendous respect for Holmes Jr.

“I respect his skills,” Shields said. “I see that he’s working on his uppercuts, his hooks. He’s looking like he’s better from the last time that I seen him and if he got better from the last time I seen him when he got a second-round knockout, I know that this fight is going to be very exciting.”

The fight card will be streamed on DAZN starting at 8 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets using this link or in person at the Dort Center.

RELATED: Savannah Marshall targets Claressa Shields fight in cage as she gears up for MMA debut…

 

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