The most dominant middleweight in professional boxing right now isn’t Canelo Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin — it’s Claressa “T-Rex” Shields. The 2018 Female Fighter of the Year has unified the IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC titles at middleweight. That’s a herculean feat only accomplished by Boxing 2020 Hall of Fame candidate Bernard Hopkins after he KO’d Oscar De La Hoya.
Shields is also the first American boxer to win an Olympic gold medal since Andre Ward in 2004, and the only American fighter, regardless of gender, to win one twice. Self-crowned as the “G.W.O.A.T.” (Greatest Women of All-time), Shields is shockingly just 24 years old.
TALES OF THE TAPE | Errol Spence Jr.
Despite her sheer brilliance, Shields has often been left out of the conversation for the sport’s elite status due to boxing’s massive gender gap in popularity, competition, and coverage. That’s a shame because it would be Adrien Broner’s level of crazy not to learn Shield’s story. While she has over a decade of in-ring experience under her belt (or should we say belts), her best is still in store. In our latest Tales of the Tape, we look at how Claressa Shields is redefining what it means to “fight like a girl.”
She will punch through the glass ceiling
At 11 years old, Shields had her first taste of the “sweet science.” Due to a lack of female opponents, her first sparring partner was a guy. She gave him a major beatdown. These days not much has changed. “I spar with men,” Shields told TMZ. “And, I mean, I drop men. I bust men nose, I beat men up all the time.” She’s confident she could beat both Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter. Oh, and while most of the middleweight class avoid fighting Golovkin, Shields believes she can give GGG a run for his money.
She’s the pride and joy of Flint, Michigan
As you may have heard, Flint, Michigan has not had clean water for a very, very long time. In a city desperate for some optimism, Shields has become a shining symbol of hope. Throughout her childhood, she slept on the floor and skipped meals to feed her younger siblings. Her father served jail time during her formative years. She couldn’t speak until she was five. She’s also candidly recounted chilling stories of rape and sexual abuse by multiple men. Despite life’s haymakers, Shields has always refused to be counted out.
She has the heart of a champion
After getting floored in the first round by world titlist Hanna Gabriel, a jittery Shields looked like she was going to stay down. Instead, she bit down onto her mouthguard and won every following round. She has a massive heart outside of the ring too. Her foundation, the Claressa Shields Community Project, is a summer boot camp in her hometown that helps youngsters get physically fit and cope with the trauma that many kids experience growing up in Flint. While she was training for the London Summer Olympics, Shields learned that her cousin had an unwanted pregnancy and needed $500 for an abortion. Instead of handing over the money, Shields offered to adopt the baby. When her niece, Klaressa, was born, she made good on the promise. Unfortunately, an ugly dispute with Klaressa’s biological mother forced a heart-broken Shields to relinquish custody.
Her fight was the curtain call for HBO Boxing
“Game of Thrones” wasn’t the only prime time HBO property to hang up its gloves recently. HBO Boxing, the broadcaster of super fights like George Foreman vs. Joe Frazier, Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns and most recently Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao hung up their broadcast gloves at the end of 2018. Claressa Shields’ ten-round masterclass win over Belgium’s Femke Hermans will go down as the legendary platform’s closing act.
She’s dipping her hand into promoting
Shields is already making cash-money moves by taking control of her career. The Don Queen just recently announced the launch of T-Rex Boxing Promotions.
Her story is worthy of not one, but two movies
If after reading this Tales of the Tape, you think Shields’ journey is perfect for Hollywood, Oscar winner Barry Jenkins has already beaten you to the punch. The Moonlight director will pen a screenplay based on her life for Universal Pictures. The movie studio bought her life rights and the rights to director’s Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper’s 2015 documentary “T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold.” The award-winning doc was a knockout at film festivals worldwide, winning countless accolades, not unlike the films’ subject herself. In a passionate review of the flick, the New York Times said, “You don’t have to be a boxing fan to be awed by Claressa Shields.” You can watch it on Amazon Prime and iTunes.
