“Got Them Wilder Legs”: Fans Take Things a ‘Little Too Far’ After Watching Claressa Shields Face Off Female Heavyweight Champion

Flint, Michigan native Claressa Shields, is taking a gigantic step up to face WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse of Canada. The fight is scheduled to unfold at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, on 27 June, but a picture from her press conference at the same venue yesterday seems to have sent fans into a frenzy.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist, who predominantly competes in the middleweight division where she has achieved undisputed status, will step up two weight classes for her upcoming fight in an attempt to earn a title in a fourth division. So, when Shields faced off against the Canadian yesterday in Michigan, she took to X, sharing a picture from their faceoff with her followers.

Claressa Shields seems sensitive about her weight

Initially, Shields shared a few snaps from the press conference earlier today, with many fans suggesting Shields looked bigger in the pictures. This seems to have rubbed her the wrong way with the undisputed queen, who tweeted another picture of her and her opponent standing side by side, suggesting she is taller, not bigger. Shields wrote, “Different body types! I’m not bigger, I’m Taller! Y’all say anything on this app!” To get her point across, Shields even wrote, “I’m coming up 2 weight classes. Can we compare her legs to mine, or y’all don’t see it. GOOFIES!”

It’s worth mentioning Shields will be fighting in the heavyweight division for the first time in her career. And she seems pretty confident as she has said in the press conference, “I just don’t believe that there is a woman who’s on this earth that can beat me.” On the other hand, her opponent Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse who is “a champ of the world” is in doubt about Shields’ ability to handle power. “It remains to be seen if she can take the punch of a heavyweight. What’s going to matter is… during that fight…can she handle the power?” – Lepage-Joanisse said through an interpreter.

However, adding more to this situation, Shields’ tweet failed to convince her fans about her weight, instead, the comment section quickly started roasting the undisputed champion for her weight gain.

Shields has a response to every comment

‘GWOAT’ is a prolific X user, but it’s difficult even for her to respond to everything people say on her posts, but that didn’t stop her from responding, anyway. One user playfully suggested Shields has legs like Deontay Wilder. Notably, Wilder has thin legs despite being in the heavyweight division, for which he often gets trolled online. Nevertheless, after the fan commented, Shields responded in her own way saying – “Now you taking it a little too far.”

Someone else claimed Shields looked like a man, which is why she is undefeated. Boxers, regardless of their gender, often put on considerable muscle mass, which sometimes may come off as masculine. Either way, Shields responded by asking the user to stop talking nonsense – “Men don’t a big ass & hips! You stop your nonsense in that bihhh never manly.”

Another user predicted an upset loss for Shields because of the jump in weight classes, which isn’t new in boxing. Many fighters, including Canelo Alvarez and Amir Khan, have made similar mistakes and paid for it. However, Shields claimed the user has been saying that for her last four fights. Announcing that she won’t lose, she shot back: “You been saying for 4 fights now, give it up! I’m not LOSING.”

The next user came out in support of the undisputed and undefeated champion, writing, “You got this Champ!!!!! GWOAT FOREVER”. Yet, this will be Shields’ first fight against a heavyweight, so it could go either way. 

Meanwhile, another user highlighted that Shields seems to be taken by what the people think about her. “Clarissa is too worried about perception”, the user wrote. Also, Shields responding to most of the comments doesn’t help that image. 

By moving up in weight, Claressa Shields seems to have attracted a lot of criticism about her weight, but she would most likely get back in shape after the fight. However, her responses to every comment suggest the fans might have got to her on some level. Do you think Shields looked overweight?