The highly anticipated super fight between Claressa Shields and Laila Ali, the fight that could’ve been the most significant moment in women’s boxing history, is officially dead. At least, according to Shields.
The dream of a GWOAT vs. Legend clash has come to an end, and Claressa Shields is not holding back on her feelings about Laila Ali’s decision not to fight her.
In an interview with TMZ, Shields confirmed the news, stating that Ali’s representatives had told her that the answer is “no.” Shields, never one to mince words, suggested that Ali is “scared.”
“Laila and her representatives have told us no. Like, the answer is ‘no.’ She doesn’t want to fight. And that’s fine. I have no problem with that. I’m not upset. I mean, I wouldn’t fight me either. I understand that she’s scared. I’m moving on,” Shields told TMZ.
The beef between the two female boxing icons has been brewing for years, with the tension reaching its peak in July when Shields’ team made a $15 million offer to Ali. Laila Ali, who retired from boxing in 2007, had previously suggested that a $15 million or $20 million offer would be necessary for her to even consider coming out of retirement. Now that the money is on the table, it seems she’s no longer interested.
Shields went on to say that she is disappointed in Laila’s decision and that her late father, the boxing icon Muhammad Ali, would have done things differently. “We’re in a generation now where the women fight each other. We don’t duck each other. And back in [Laila’s] generation, that’s all she did. Her daddy would never,” Shields added. “If you called out Muhammad Ali, he was coming to check you, and he was coming to lay hands on you. Maybe she doesn’t have that in her genes.”
Laila Ali has not yet responded to Shields’ claims. Until then, it seems the clash of the titans is off, and we won’t be seeing these two in the ring anytime soon.
