It’s not surprising that the boxing world has been buzzing with the recent success of the Riyadh Season since the Saudi Royal, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh entered the boxing scene. The country has hosted several major events, and there are promises of even bigger things to come in 2025. Male boxers have benefited greatly from this transformation, with huge payouts and highly anticipated matchups being orchestrated with ease. However, amid all the excitement, one glaring issue persists—the lack of representation for female fighters.

As the sport continues to grow and evolve, one fighter who has never been afraid to voice her opinion is Claressa Shields. The GWOAT has consistently spoken out about the challenges women face in a traditionally male-dominated sport. Frustrated with what she perceives as gender discrimination, the 15X World Champion has taken to social media to make her stance clear.

Claressa Shields’ bold stance on being excluded

On February 2, 2025, the Flint native will face Danielle Perkins in an undisputed heavyweight fight in her hometown Flint, Michigan. Recently, Claressa Shields posted a passionate message on X. “Listen… I don’t know what world y’all living in but in my world… it’s my job as a fighter and competitor to chase the highest paydays and fight the best. Idk why it’s ok for the men but then y’all look at it as begging coming from a woman. Boxing is CAREER! MY JOB! & LASTLY,” she lamented.

Saudi Arabia hosted some of the most talked-about boxing events last year. This year too, the February 22nd showdown between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed light heavyweight title features one of the most exciting undercards in recent memory. Additionally, the highly anticipated male matchups, including Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford and Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua, set to be underway promise lucrative opportunities for all involved. However, despite the influx of big names and high-profile events, female boxers continue to be underrepresented in the Riyadh Season events.

Claressa Shields, despite her accolades, has not fought in any Riyadh Season card. While male fighters seem to get all the attention and big opportunities, female fighters like her are left on the sidelines.

For those who need to understand the full context of Shields’s latest post, we need only dial back a few days.

A Hopeful Exchange: Shields and Alalshikh’s Online Interaction

The tension surrounding the lack of female representation in Riyadh Season was ignited a few days ago when Turki Alalshikh took to X to tease more major boxing events on the horizon. He wrote, “They talk a lot about the fights, but what happens in the end is that the final answer is with us. Prepare soon for announcing the biggest schedule for the year in boxing history.”

To which, Claressa Shields responded directly, saying, “Don’t forget about the Women Turki 🙇🏾‍♀️ we love this sport too and want to make the biggest & best fights.” And Turki Alalshikh replied to her back with, “👍🙏🏻🥊”, signaling a possible green light for the 29-year-old’s inclusion in the upcoming 2025 events. This might have made a few commenters of X to take digs at her. Hence, Shields’ “y’all look at it as begging coming from a woman” comment in the latest post.

For the record, only two women’s fights have so far made it into the Riyash Season—one in August 2022 when Ramla Ali won a knockout victory against Crystal Garcia Nova in Jeddah, and another in October 2024 when Skye Nicolson defended her WBC featherweight title against Raven Chapman on the undercard event of the Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol fight.

As Saudi Arabia continues to emerge as a major hub for international boxing, the question remains: Is 2025 the year women’s boxing gets the spotlight it deserves? Will Claressa Shields and other women fighters finally get the recognition they’ve been advocating for? Or will the gender disparity in boxing continue to persist? What do you think?