By Keith Idec
Multiple sources have confirmed that negotiations are ongoing to add two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields to the Sergey Kovalev-Andre Ward undercard November 19 in Las Vegas.
Shields, 21, won her second middleweight gold medal in August at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. An opponent has not been solidified for the pro debut of Shields, whose involvement in the card would draw more mainstream media attention to the entire show.
Representatives for Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports, which promotes Ward, want Shields’ fight to be televised as the opener of HBO Pay-Per-View telecast from T-Mobile Arena. Main Events, which promotes Kovalev, would prefer to use the fourth and only open pay-per-view slot on a more consequential bout between a Roc Nation fighter and a Main Events fighter.
In that second scenario, the Flint, Michigan, native would make her pro debut in a non-televised bout, but before a sizeable crowd inside T-Mobile Arena.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
