Claressa Shields: "I don't hate Savannah, I have a lot of respect for her. She was a great dance partner and I will dance with her again."
I have been ringside when Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall have traded blows with breathtaking ferocity. I have seen first-hand the two bitter rivals exchange venomous words unrelentingly on more than one occasion. It is one of the boxing's great rivalries. It almost certainly goes even beyond that.
An old amateur feud. Savannah Marshall, the only fighter to have defeated Claressa Shields inside a boxing ring. A 2012 victory that sold a fight ten years later. When their latest chapter played out on an all-female card at the O2 Arena in London, Shields was inspired as her fists more than matched her pre-fight words.
Ten years in the making. Twenty incredible minutes. Shields got her revenge in some style. The American was booed heavily as she danced into that London ring. The pantomime villain would soon prove her point. The jeers slowly subsided as Shields quickly showed the landscape had changed. Although, in truth, that one solitary victory all those years ago was just a selling point.
Shields has shown many times that the one blemish on her resume was now of little significance compared to the extensive achievements since her only defeat in boxing. But revenge was still nevertheless sweet when Shields was awarded a unanimous decision after one of the greatest fights ever seen in a British ring. Many came to see Shields knocked out. She just came to win. The victory came with much shine. Point proved, and that GWOAT label went back to America with her. Claressa Shields defended many things on that iconic night.
Shields was recently back in the UK. The reason for her latest visit was yet again Savannah Marshall. But this time it was different. The American was in Newcastle to renew acquaintances with Marshall, but only to support her old rival on her MMA debut.
Shields, now a veteran of three MMA fights under the PFL banner, shouted encouragement from cageside as Marshall got her new career off to an impressive winning start courtesy of a first-round stoppage over Mirela Vargas.
The relationship was different in Newcastle. A fascinating little shift in the dynamics of their rivalry. Over Zoom, Shields told me why it was a completely different vibe in Newcastle.
"Right through the amateurs as a professional, I always wanted to rematch her and prove that I was a better fighter than her. Even in the amateurs, when I saw her, I used to speak to her and say hello. She beat me in 2012, but I won the Olympics that year, and in 2016, I won the Olympics again. I won the World Championships in 2014 and 2016. I used to see her quite often. Then when we turned professional she signed with Mayweather Promotions and every time I went to Vegas, Floyd used to welcome me to the gym. I always spoke to her there and was very kind to her and stuff. The beef really started when she started to say that she was a better fighter than me, that she deserved the belts, and that I wouldn't be this decorated fighter if I had fought against her. We have always been in the same weight class, either 160 or 168, and I found it all really offensive.
"It all really blew up when I won a fight in the UK, and she was ringside and started talking trash. I am just a non-tolerant person of disrespect. That's when I have got to let this girl know that I have put up with this mouthy stuff for too long and that I would fight her. I don't know if she was trying to see if I was intimidated by her. In the build-up to our fight, we didn't like each other because we were getting ready to take away the most important things away from us, our belts. We had that fight at the O2 Arena in London in front of 20,000 fans, and I won unanimously. She talks about how she was crushed and that she went through depression. But, on the other hand, I was celebrating, and now that I am signed with the PFL and doing MMA. I am just continuously fighting and winning. To see her, then follow me to the PFL. I don't hate Savannah, I have a lot of respect for her. She was a great dance partner and I will dance with her again."
Shields will almost certainly dance once again with her great rival. The American believes they will trade blows and indeed kicks, in both combat worlds in the coming months. An unfinished rivalry that has now found another outlet.
"I think we will do both," Shields told me. "I don't know which one will come first. But I think we can rematch in boxing and do an MMA fight in PFL."
Shields has proved many a doubter wrong over the course of her incredible career. She can clearly be outspoken at times. But she is equally someone who has always backed up her words. And indeed herself. The transition to another sport has seen her evolve in many ways. Shields is apparently all in. But thoughts of Savannah Marshall are never far away. They know what they bring each other.
"I feel like going into MMA is so challenging and so hard, and that made me respect Savannah even more, and she wanted me to be there to witness her coming into MMA. Despite the fact that she wanted to fight me next to avenge her loss, I didn't want to cheer against her. The champion in me wanted to get behind Savannah and support her, even though it was supposed to lead up to another fight with me, this was still another world champion from boxing coming over to MMA, and I wanted to see her win, and she did win. How can I be mad at that? Someone doing the same thing I did. I will only show her how tough and mean I am when we are in the ring fighting again. If we are not fighting and she is doing MMA, I wish her well in that fight. When she does well, it makes boxing look better as a whole. If she had been smashed in the first round, it would have made her look bad, me look bad, and then all of women's boxing looks bad. I like her heart. She is a lot tougher than I thought she was. So I have to respect her. But I am the better fighter, in boxing, MMA, running track, and playing basketball. If Savannah wants to fight me in anything, she knows I am down to do it. We will be enemies at that time, but outside of the ring, I don't care to be enemies with any of these girls if I am being honest."
A winning MMA debut in 2021 was followed by a defeat to Abigail Montes before Shields returned to winning ways inside a cage earlier this year against Kelsey DeSantis. That sobering defeat to Montes might have convinced many in her circumstances to stick to the day job. But Shields always vowed to see the MMA job through. As ever, Shields wants to conquer her new world.
"It's the challenge of it," Shields says of why she is doing MMA. "I have been told multiple times by the coaches that I work with and all the MMA fighters that I have the potential to be an MMA champion, and I really want to chase that. It's not just about fighting one fighter. It's about me building myself as a combat athlete. Hopefully, in two years, I will be able to compete in the PFL league and compete in the million-dollar championships. I believe that is very achievable. I just have to put the time and the work in and keep growing. I have got better on the ground. I have got better against the cage. I have to keep learning and get even better on the ground. These girls have it hard fighting against me because I will always be better than them at throwing punches. But they won't always have the upper hand on me when it comes to the ground because learning it might be difficult at the beginning, but once you start learning it, anyone can learn jiu-jitsu or wrestling. But the girls who do MMA won't learn how to box like I do because I am on a completely different level when it comes to boxing. I've been to the Olympics twice, and I have fought all over the world. So my experience can't be taught."
Claressa Shields has many options. Her boxing is undoubtedly her bread and butter. But despite her MMA ambitions, she is far from finished in boxing. In many ways, she had unfinished business in the Noble Art.
Competing at the highest level in two different sports is rarely advisable. Or achievable. But you sense, if anyone can, Claressa Shields can.
The world of Mixed Martial Arts has fully consumed the former two-time Olympic Champion. The confidence to reach the very top in her second sport is obvious. Her words are spoken without any semblance of delusion. There has always been something in her words that makes you believe. The odds might be against her in MMA. But you know Shields has overcome much bigger odds in her life. Don't be surprised if she upsets those odds again.
Photo Credit: PFL & Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer
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