Boxing ace turned MMA fighter Claressa Shields spoke to ‘TheMacLife’ ahead of her MMA debut on June 10. ‘T-Rex’ Shields takes on Brittney Elkin at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City in a bout that has fans excited. As Elkin is on a skid, fans expect Shields to put on a clinical showcase under the PFL promotional banner.
Shields has accomplished a lot in boxing and has been flirting with the idea of making a run in MMA for a while now. She trains out of Jackson-Wink in New Mexico with Jon Jones and Holly Holm being her principal training partners. Chiefly, Claressa Shields has major potential to make her mark in MMA as she definitely has the stand-up skills to cause problems.
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Claressa Shields: Making her mark across sports
Shields revealed that her move into MMA was because she had succeeded in her boxing goals. However, she felt that she wasn’t able to break into the boxing box office and receive the acclaim she deserved. MMA is a sport booming in popularity, and break-out stars are born ever-so often.
“I was 25 when I signed the contract for the PFL, and I’ve accomplished everything in boxing. I call myself the GWOAT- and that’s the greatest woman of all time and I felt like I’ve done everything in boxing to prove that. But with being the GWOAT…..It didn’t really come with the respect from the network so I was like, ‘What else is there for me to do in boxing?’.”
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“With the opportunity in MMA, I can add more to my GWOAT-ness. What other female fighter can say she can possibly become the MMA champ and be a boxing champ at the same time…Why waste the body? Why waste time? And my overall goal is to be MMA champ and boxing champ at the same time…Because I can beat all the girls in boxing.”
Claressa Shields’ debut fight on June 10 will be a good litmus test of Claressa Shields’ ceiling as a high-caliber fighter. Chiefly, she’s managed to capture the attention of fighters and fans alike and will hope to check the required boxes in MMA.
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