Did you ever think a fighter would bring a knife to a fistfight? Enter Claressa Shields, who will change your perception in an instant. Despite having a formidable reputation as one of the most dangerous fighters, a video of a sparring session is shifting attention to her for her unexpected behavior. Shields is known for her toughness and durability but she found herself downed on the canvas because of a left hook from a male sparring partner back in 2018.  What did she do to retaliate?

The “GWOAT” decided to bring out a knife! Yes, you read that right. Her unpredictable nature was on full display and she even blamed coach Derik Santos. Now what do ‘Big’ John McCarthy and Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson think about this? While talking about the female lightweight boxing star, McCarthy spoke of Shields spewing scathing remarks about Cris Cyborg and her male sparring partner Arturs Ahmetovs. He then mentioned her plan of bringing out a knife and attacking her sparring partner and his coach, something she thought about doing but didn’t.

McCarthy said, “You’re gonna go get a knife, and you’re going to stab someone because they hit you in a sparring session? What the hell are you talking about? She comes up with some stuff, you know. I don’t know what she’s trying to do she’s got the whole thing with the ‘GWOAT’ you know.” However here is the catch– Shields declared that there was a minor ‘cheating’ on the part of Ahmetovs and his coach before the sparring began.

But what really happened in practice? Why did the Michigan-born boxer get fired up to the point of her pulling out a knife? Shouldn’t she be used to such instances being a high-level boxer who has spent so much time in the gym? What was her justification for almost committing a heinous act? Let’s find out from the self-proclaimed ‘GWOAT’ herself.

Why did Claressa Shields lose her composure with Arturs Ahmetovs?

Claressa Shields getting rocked and dropped by Arturs Ahmetovs was all over the internet. The outspoken boxer was engaged in a heated spar, with both fighters loading up on a left hook – only, Ahmetovs’s shot landed clean. Shields was grounded with her legs initially raised, and she seemed to be out for a short while. What audiences didn’t see was her going out to her car to bring out a knife which she wanted to use to hurt Ahmetovs and his coach. According to her, the 6-1 Latvian boxer had removed the padding from his glove which led to the infamous moment.

The Michigan-born boxer stated, “I don’t give a f**k about being dropped. But what I will say is, when a motherf***er tries to cheat me, you got me f**ked up. And yes, I ran to my car and I grabbed my knife and I was going to cut Derik Santos. And guess who stopped me? Coach John.” If not for Coach John David Jackson, we might have likely seen Shields in a prison cell as opposed to a boxing ring.

Shields also mentioned how she was grateful for not taking a drastic step that could have ended her career. She wrote on X regarding the same,  stating, “One thing for sure, if I went public 2018 about how this fellow professional boxer & boxing trainer took his padding out his gloves to spare against me because I embarrassed him earlier that week, it would have jeopardized my upcoming world title fight.” So, was Shields’s overreaction justified, or did Ahmetovs and his coach really breach the rules? Tell us in the comments below.