Edgar Berlanga Defends Claressa Shields After ESPN Faces Backlash for Excluding Her From Simone Biles, Serena Williams List

Claressa Shields might arguably be the greatest female fighter of all time. The accomplishments she has achieved in her eight-year pro boxing career are unmatched by most fighters in the world. At just 17 years old, Shields made history by winning an Olympic gold medal in 2012, and she has been exceeding expectations ever since.

With a record that can put anyone to shame, Shields thinks of herself as one of the top female athletes in the current generation. With a record like her, she is one of the few athletes who can rightfully make their claim. That is why her frustration was justified when she recently called out ESPN for not including her on the list of trailblazing female athletes alongside Simone Biles, Caitlin Clark, and Serena Williams. It looks like super middleweight star Edgar Berlanga also agrees with her as he came to her defense.

Edgar Berlanga Backs Claressa Shields’ ESPN criticism

The GWOAT’s disappointment was understandable, as the list even featured athletes like Caitlin Clark, who just completed her first full WNBA season, but left her off entirely. As a two-time Olympic champion and five-weight world champion, Shields didn’t hold back, publicly calling out ESPN for the oversight while also listing her accolades. “Wow @espn Y’all have really lost yall mind!!!!! Do I have to run my resume down to y’all!!! 2x Olympic champ 3x Undisputed champ 5 weight world champion 15x world champ WOMENS BOXING TRAIL BLAZER,” Shields tweeted.

Berlanga agreed with the two-division undisputed champion as he wrote, “I respect and f*** with @Claressashields stand up lady 🤝,” acknowledging and motivating her for speaking out. Many fans echoed Berlanga’s sentiments, backing Shields and declaring her the greatest female boxer of all time. Shields has long been the face of women’s boxing in the U.S., and for ESPN to exclude her from a list of American trailblazers struck many as disrespectful.

ESPN’s controversial list

The list revealed by ESPN included four athletes. Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam titles in her career, was the first name on the list. Following her was Biles who has made Olympics her winning ground by winning 11 Olympic medals in her career, most by any gymnast in US history. With seven gold medals, she has the second most gold medals by a woman gymnast in Olympics history.

Third on the list was Katie Ledecky, who has won nine Olympic gold medals in swimming, the most by any female swimmer. Lastly, the list included Caitlin Clark, a WNBA rookie who has shattered numerous rookie records and garnered widespread attention for her play. The Indiana Fever star has brought unprecedented viewership to women’s basketball, with some of her games drawing audiences comparable to NBA games. These athletes deserve their name on the list, but so does Claressa Shields, and her resume is more than enough to prove it.

The 29-year-old recently became a five-weight world champion by defeating Heavyweight Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in July. This makes her only the second boxer after Roy Jones Jr. in the last hundred years to win titles in both middleweight and heavyweight categories. So, Shields getting upset for not being recognized even after such a brilliant resume is understandable. But the questions have to be asked: What else does she need to do to be included in such lists?

Do you agree with Claressa Shields on this? Should she have been included in ESPN’s list? Let us know your thoughts down below.