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By Arne K. Lang
Claressa Shields, the self-proclaimed GOAT of women’s boxing, is 89-2 in combat sports. Her first setback came in May of 2012 when she lost a 4-round decision to Savannah Marshall in an amateur boxing tournament in China. Shields rebounded to win two Olympic gold medals and then win world titles in three weight classes over the course of her first 11 professional fights.
Shields, 26, suffered her second loss last night (Wednesday, Oct. 27) in the octagon at an MMA show at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Shields was out-pointed by Abigail Montes. The decision was split, but there was no controversy. Montes had Shields on the ground and was flailing away as the bout ended.
As a pro boxer, Shields has lost precious few rounds. Her toughest fight came in June of 2018 in Detroit when she overcame a first-round knockdown to defeat Costa Rica’s Hanna Gabriels. In her most recent outing as a pro boxer, she upended Canada’s previously undefeated Eve Marie Dicaire, winning every round on all three cards. The fight was held in Shields’ hometown of Flint, Michigan, where a street was recently named after her.
Shields’ conqueror Abigail Montes hails from Guadalajara, the same city that spawned Canelo Alvarez. She was 2-0 heading in to Wednesday’s match and at age 21 was making her U.S. debut.
Abigail MontesShields had one previous MMA bout. In May of this year in Atlantic City, she scored a third-round TKO over Brittney Elkin, a 35-year-old grappler from Wyoming who had won only three of her nine previous documented fights. That bout revealed that the GWOAT had a long way to go in MMA to match her boxing exploits. Shields lost the first two rounds.
Shields has been training at the Jackson Wink Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is widely considered the top MMA gym in the country. Her primary coach there is Holly Holm, an outstanding boxer who made a somewhat bumpy transition to MMA while attracting international attention for her upset of Ronda Rousey.
Although Shields has embraced MMA with the intent of becoming a star in both combat sports, it has been noted that she has a lot of distractions. She has a cameo role in her biopic, due for release next year (it bears the title “Flint Strong;” Ice Cube plays her coach) and she will soon release her first rap single.
Shields will return to conventional boxing for her next ring appearance. On Dec. 11, she will oppose Slovenian southpaw Ema Kozin in Birmingham, England. Her amateur nemesis Savannah Marshall is penciled in in the co-feature against an as-yet-undetermined opponent. Marshall and Shields have identical pro records (11-0) but Marshall has more knockouts to her credit.
The Dec. 11 show is designed as a teaser for a middleweight title showdown between Shields and Marshall next year.
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