There will come a time when Claressa Shields will find a way to accomplish even more in the ring.
For now, she is ready to take her talents to the cage.
The two-time Olympic Gold medalist and three-division champion as a pro is officially set to make her mixed martial arts (MMA) debut. Shields will do so under the Professional Fighters League (PFL) banner, with her first fight to come June 10th and Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
“MMA Debut is set,” Shields (11-0, 2KOs in boxing) announced on her verified social media account. “I’ve fought for the legacy in boxing long enough! I’m ready to make some real money while I go for more legacy.
“Boxing holla at me when the money is right.”
The official fight date was first revealed on ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA), which featured a profile on Shields on Tuesday.
“There’s not a boxer—male or female—who have accomplished what I have accomplished,” Shields told ABC’s Michael Strahan, the Hall of Fame former defensive end and current GMA anchor who is also a lifelong boxing fan. “It’s astonishing, and there are a lot more changes that need to be done.”
Shields first made the decision to become a two-sport athlete at a time when the sports world was shut down last spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 26-year-old Flint native was coming off of a 10-round win over Ivana Habazin last January—claiming two junior middleweight belts in becoming a three-division champ faster than any other boxer in history—but spent the rest of 2020 on the sidelines, waiting for a fight date that would never materialize.
“Going through the pandemic was a depressing time for me,” admitted Shields. “I wasn’t In the ring. I gained a whole bunch of weight. I’ve accomplished everything in boxing. In my mind, I was like ‘it’s time to try MMA.’
Shields has since become undisputed champion at junior middleweight following a 10-round shutout of Marie-Eve Dicaire this past March in her Flint hometown. The bout headlined an all-female Pay-Per-View, a choice made by Shields in lieu of securing a fight date on any major platform. By that point, the decision was made to venture into MMA, having announced that she signed with PFL earlier this year.
By no means is Shields done with boxing. The only fighter in history to claim undisputed championship status in two weight divisions during the four-belt era still has plans to return to the ring when the time is right.
Right now, the time has come to spread her wings and attempt to conquer another sport.
“Be who you want to be,” Shields insisted when asked by Strahan of any advice she has to young women around the world. “Sometimes, they put us in a box and say, “this is what a woman is.” Skinny, petite, you know… straight hair. They put you in this box and it’s so shallow.
“I think people are so used to women being told what to do and not doing what they want to do, that it makes them uncomfortable and feel intimidated. That’s my advice—do you, boo!”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox