Claressa Shields: Beyond The Ropes

Claressa Shields: Beyond The Ropes

The next phase in the career of Claressa Shields will begin on Saturday night in Atlanta, Georgia. The heavyweight run, which brought her yet more undisputed honours, will be put on ice, while the American drops back down to middleweight in search of the superfights.

Kaye Scott will be the first opponent as Shields looks to add even more glitter to her already incredible resume. The Australian defends her WBC and WBA world middleweight titles live on DAZN. The 42-year-old has been unfairly written off, and she sees the fight a little differently from the odds that suggest a win for Shields is almost a given. Scott is coming to win, and belief can go a long way.

Despite everything that she has achieved, the next twelve months could be the most rewarding for Shields. Two fellow pound-for-pound fighters are seemingly lying in wait. And a potential new star could also force herself into the Claressa Shields sweepstake in the coming months.

Kaye Scott must not be overlooked, of course, but that search for the superfight could be a short one. While Shields was non-committal when I spoke to her a few weeks ago, it does look like the unified world welterweight champion Lauren Price is next for her. Both are former Olympic champions; Shields will quite rightly say she did it twice. Shields vs. Price is full of intrigue. Two unbeaten fighters of the highest order. It will probably land early next year.

Mikaela Mayer is also of interest to Shields. Her fellow American reciprocates those thoughts. Mayer has Chantelle Cameron to deal with first, of course, but a clash between the pair could materialise towards the end of 2027. Mayer has won world titles at super-featherweight, welterweight, and super-welterweight, and she has stated that she has no problems going to 160 for a fight with Shields.

The higher weights badly need some new blood running through the ranks, and we may have a potential superstar on our hands. The Canadian Tamm Thibeault was incredibly impressive in dominating Desley Robinson last week in Florida. In only her fifth fight, the 29-year-old claimed the WBO and IBF world middleweight titles. Thibeault is already being hailed as the fighter to inflict a defeat on the record of Shields. Thibeault might not quite be ready for Shields right now, but in a few fights, she will be. In Price, Mayer, and Thibeault, Shields should be kept busy for the next eighteen months or so. The criticism of that resume of Shields is the lack of marquee names on it. I do think that is a little harsh; I just think it lacks the marquee names that are known a little more to the masses. But the narrative will soon change.

A lot can change in boxing, but if the names detailed in this article do eventually appear on the record of Claressa Shields and W is there also, even her harshest critic would have to accept the GWOAT reference.