Claressa Shields open to facing Katie Taylor ... for right price
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.
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Claressa Shields likes her curves and to risk losing them by dropping weight to fight Katie Taylor at 147 pounds, she’d need to see a whole lot of money.
“Katie Taylor is not the worry … the 147 is,” a victorious Shields said Friday night after making boxing history by shutting out Marie-Eve Dicaire to become the first two-division undisputed champion in the four-belt era.
“Katie is a great fighter,” Shields continued. “They gotta pay me a lot of money for me to lose my butt to go down to 147. At the end of the day, I’m a woman and that’s something I love about my body. I might not have no big breasts, but I have a nice butt.
“And I’ll lose that going to 147. So they need to come with that dough, and I’ll be seeing Katie at 147 as long as they come with at least $1 million. Talk to me nice.”
Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) fought at 154 pounds on Friday but she’s a natural 160-pounder. It might difficult for her to drop down to welterweight to take on Taylor. But Shields insists it’s a possibility.
While the self-proclaimed GWOAT (Greatest Woman of All Time) showed respect to Taylor, the undisputed lightweight champion, she didn’t give Savannah Marshall the same courtesy. Marshall outpointed Shields during a 2012 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships matchup, prior to Shields winning her first Olympic gold medal that summer. Shields is irked when Marshall’s name is even broached.
“Savannah Marshall can’t f— with me,” Shields said Friday night. “Let’s keep it real. You won a lucky decision when we were kids. Savannah Marshall knows that she cannot and will not ever be able to f— with me.”
While it remains to be seen whether the dream pairing of Shields and Taylor can ever happen, Shields will make her mixed martial arts debut in June with the Professional Fighters League.
After celebrating her 26th birthday March 17, Shields will fly out to Albuquerque, where she will continue to hone her MMA skills by working with the likes of Holly Holm and Jon Jones at Jackson Wink MMA Academy.