“I don’t think Jake Paul has the skills to get inside the ring with me,” Claressa Shields vehemently declared in a recent interview with TMZ Sports. She has held her own in the boxing world by knocking out her opponents in the ring and even sparring with male boxers just to get better. But there is a clip that says otherwise.

A 2018 clip made the rounds on the internet last year, where the fans could witness the two-time Olympic gold medalist getting caught and dropped on the canvas by a male boxer. It seems she hasn’t been able to escape the shadow of the video, as it again came back to haunt her.

After Shields, 29, made her assessment of ‘Problem Child,’ many brought up the old clip to clap back at her for her statement. Arturs Ahmetovs released the video of him sparring with the five-division champion and hitting her with a left last December. However, if Shields is to be believed, Ahmetovs had removed the padding of the gloves, which resulted in her knockdown. A year has passed since, but the ghosts of the past are still very much alive.

Shields, at 15-0, turned to her X handle to hit out at the critics questioning her and disclosed additional details about the video. She admitted how she was back on her feet and had another round of sparring with him. She wrote, “Let’s BFFR & yall lames keep posting when the glove cheat dropped me 6 years ago… he had little to no padding in his gloves, tell that b*m post all our sparring! Cause I literally got back up, sparred him another rd!”

“Then went 4 more rds with another professional man fighter! Y’all can’t FK with me on my worst day!!” ‘GWOAT’ added while clarifying the situation. These comments might provide some solace to her fans. However, her doubters didn’t feel that was an adequate explanation.

Claressa Shields doubles down

The Flint native then disclosed how she didn’t want to address the situation. The incident made her vigilant, as she adopted the practice of checking her opponent’s gloves. What’s more? Shields also used her unblemished boxing record to keep the critics at bay.

She wrote in a separate post, “I don’t even like to address sucker sh*t! I find the lesson in everything! Before I sparr anyone I personally check there gloves & wraps myself! Y’all can post me getting clipped in sparring by a guy 🤣 but can’t post me LOSING A DAMN BOXING MATCH!”

Shields has been vocal about the gloves-tempering incident, as it damaged her reputation. It also allowed naysayers to cast doubts on her skills and shun her call-outs of Keith Thurman. But she has been clear on her stance, despite the contrary narrative. It remains to be seen how long she might have to endure and address this old sparring clip. She would rather let her performance do the talking instead.

What do you make of these comments by Claressa Shields about her old sparring clip? Do you think she can hold her own against Jake Paul? Let us know in the comments below.