Will Laila Ali come out of retiremement, step into the ring and fight Claressa Shields?
Ali states if the the price is right she’ll do it.
Shields says an anonymous person has already put up $15 million for the two to make it happen.
So now what?
During an interview with Radio Raheem, Claressa Shields says that Laila Ali can’t beat her in the ring.
Check out the transcript from their interview below.
Radio Raheem: Radio Raheem with Claressa Shields…we’re here for Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury but you always have some kind of beef cookin’…and this morning I turn on ESPN and see Lalia Ali there and I’m like yeahhh, I wonder if they’re going to go there and they absolutely did go there. You must know by now that she said that she would come out of retirement to fight you, that it’s just about the money and she wants to “shut that mouth”
Claressa Shields: Uh-hum
Radio Raheem: Are you going to give her that opportunity to shut that mouth?
Claressa Shields: Absolutely. That’s all I want. After all this talking is over, we gotta fight. I’m actually done talking. It’s like we already know that the money is there, she said five million to come out of retirement, the five million dollars is there. I said ten million for the winner, the money is there. It’s all about if she’s really serious. Is she all bark or if she’s gonna bite. And really I’m ready and I feel this is a great match for women’s boxing, and two women’s boxing never had that passing of the torch and it’s really going to be a passing of the torch like it’s going to be me taking the torch really…so either she’s going to get in the ring and continue to hold her dominance or she’s going to lose to me and I’m going to continue to raise women’s boxing. But either or, we don’t know what’s going to happen until we get inside the ring and fight.
Radio Raheem: Now last time there was a flare up I thought I saw pictures of you guys together, like I thought that you guys had made up to some degree…
Claressa Shields: That was in 2016, back when we were cool. And then there’s another picture floating around today when we were at the Women’s Sports Foundation back in 2018, 2020 where she was giving me a hug when we were on stage, but I feel like that Laila Ali has always been kind of envious of me and not just – and I’m not going to say out of her own and I’m not going to say out of her own and say that I’m so accomplished in women’s boxing and she never got that — due diligence and that respect. So to see me getting it kinda pisses her off and I think that she feels that she’s a better fighter than me. But it always looks easier when you’re looking on the outside. But when you get in there, it’s totally different
Radio Raheem: Now she’ll note how many knockouts she got and how many knockouts you DON’T have…
Claressa Shields: Talk to me. That don’t matter. Christina Hammer was 24-0, 11 KO’s and I went in there and trashed her. Having knockouts – you have to look at her opponents and who she fought. I compare my first ten fights to her last ten fights…no comparison. I’ve fought against the majority, undefeated fighters. As a matter of fact, the majority of the fighters they were undefeated, current world champions or former world champions and I beat them. So you look at who she fought, her biggest test was freakin’ Vonda Ward and Christy Martin and Christy Martin weighed in at 140 pounds and Laila Ali was 160 [pounds]…like how are we making matches like that? Like look, it’s no discredit to her but she cannot — as far as skill wise she cannot beat me and she thinks that she is a bigger girl, I will get in there and walk Laila Ali’s a—down!