Two-time Olympic gold medalist and undisputed boxing champion Claressa Shields found herself in an unexpected sparring match at the gym.
A viral clip from her Instagram Live session shows Shields being interrupted mid-workout by a man critics are dubbing a “Male Karen,” who demanded she lower her voice while broadcasting to fans. The awkward exchange has since ignited a fiery debate over gym etiquette, privacy, and the unspoken rules of shared spaces.
While Shields was chatting with fans mid-workout, a man on a nearby treadmill suddenly cut in, saying:
“Do you mind using headphones?”
Confused, Shields responded, “What do you mean?”
The man doubled down, claiming, “Because you’re being loud.”
Clearly taken aback, Shields pointed out the flaw in his argument: “How can you hear me? You have your headphones in.”
Yet, the man insisted, “Yes, and I can still hear you.”
The boxing star, visibly baffled, questioned how he could hear her over his headphones in the sparsely populated gym. “So you don’t want me to talk?” she retorted, panning her camera to reveal rows of empty treadmills. The man had deliberately chosen the machine directly next to hers.
He replied, “I’m just asking kindly for you to reduce the volume.”
The clip quickly ricocheted across platforms, with fans and critics taking sides. Many rallied behind Shields, pointing out the gym’s emptiness and questioning why the man didn’t simply move. “He wanted clout,” one user argued. “Why pick the treadmill right next to her if you want quiet? This is giving ‘main character syndrome.'” Others noted that Shields, a public figure who often shares her workouts, wasn’t being unreasonably disruptive, especially compared to typical gym noise.
However, some defended the man’s request, citing universal gym courtesy. “Talking loudly on speaker or live streams is annoying, period,” a Reddit thread debated. “Not everyone wants to hear your conversation while they’re trying to focus.”
This gym encounter raises a bigger question: Should people be mindful of noise levels while working out, or was this man simply looking for something to complain about?
Out of her nine professional wins, Claressa Shields has achieved two through knockout and the remainder by unanimous decision. By overcoming Hammer, she triumphed over her most challenging opponent yet, a fighter with an undefeated record and 11 knockouts to her credit.
