IMAGO / ZUMA Wire / David Donoher
Claressa Shields recently re-signed with the PFL and received advice and encouragement from two of MMA’s biggest stars. Having recently re-signed with the PFL, Shields is looking to get back in the cage again, and Conor McGregor and Cris Cyborg have already had conversations with the self-proclaimed GWOAT. She also discussed her recent call out on Jake Paul.
Claressa Shields gets advice from Conor McGregor
Shields last fought an MMA bout in October, 2021, suffering a loss at the hands of Abigail Montes at PFL 10. That would set her professional MMA record at 1-1, as she won her debut earlier that year at PFL 4. She remains undefeated in boxing with a perfect 14-0 record and is widely considered to be one of the P4P best in the world.
Claressa told TMZ the following:
“Conor McGregor inboxed me. Conor actually gave me some of the best advice today actually. He was just like ‘Don’t take away from your boxing. You need to get comfortable being on your back and comfortable with your wrestling.’ That’s an honor and that’s a privilege for me, so thank you to Conor McGregor for that, and I look forward to working with him some.”
Cris Cyborg could be a training partner again
Shields says that she’s been building a new team and has also been in contact with Bellator’s Cris Cyborg. If we visit our mind palace, we’ll recall that Shields and Cyborg have worked together in the past, so that possible training union wouldn’t be a first. Claressa helped Cris when she was preparing to face Megan Anderson at UFC 214, but Megan would pull out of the fight for personal reasons.
“[Cyborg’s] one of the toughest and roughest female combat fighters in the world and she reached out. I may do some work with her. I don’t know.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CSIqvoOwko[/embed]
When asked about a possible time frame for her return to the cage, she estimated it would be sometime in early 2024, possibly February or March. She stated that she wants to “hone her skills” more before stepping back into her role as an MMA competitor.
About Jake Paul and Keith Thurman
And if you were wondering about Jake Paul, especially since the two are both signed to the PFL, she hasn’t backtracked a single bit on her challenge to box him. As a matter of fact, she says she’s serious and firmly believes she’d win against Jake Paul.
“I would really fight Jake Paul in a fight, honestly, and I would win. He knows that.”
Jake Paul isn’t the only male athlete she’s called out, either. Fellow boxer Keith Thurman has been a familiar target for her, but she says she’s not really that particular callout is different.
“I would really do a boxing match with Jake Paul. Now, Keith Thurman, I’m just yanking a couple chains, you know what I’m saying? I do still think I could beat Keith Thurman in a real boxing match, but if he wants to do a charity match or whatever,” she said.
“The thing is, I came at Keith Thurman so hard was because he said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll box Claressa in the ring and I’ll use one hand and I’ll put on bigger gloves, she can wear her head gear,’ and it’s like, alright Keith Thurman, you’re a man and you were a champion but you’re not that f—cking great. So, don’t ever disrespect the GWOAT because Keith Thurman may be able to beat me in a boxing match, but he can’t beat me with one hand. Stop it. Stop it, you little man. The fans are really riled up about it, so would I do a charity match with Keith Thurman? Of course.”
Claressa Shields last fought in June against Maricela Cornejo. She defeated her opponent in a 10 round bout via unanimous decision. She retained her WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, WBF, and The Ring female middleweight titles.
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