For years now, there has been a competitive rivalry between two of women’s boxing greats in Claressa Shields and Laila Ali. Ali is a 2021 inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Her career boasts an undefeated record after 24 fights.
Of those bouts, she has 21 knockouts. In Ali’s day, she was nothing to snooze at. Hell, she was the furthest thing to snooze at. And up until recent years, no one would rival such greatness.
What’s in a name?
When it comes to Shields, she has been making her way for years. With a professional record of 16-0, she’s seeking to give her self-proclaimed nickname legitimacy as the “Greatest Woman of All-Time” (G.W.O.A.T). For these two ladies, their relationship began as a mentor-mentee type deal. The two began as very complimentary of one another. However, a 2019 The Breakfast Club interview with Ali changed everything. She said, “I don’t think there’s anyone there for me that would give me a good challenge.” Shields took exception to that notion, especially after her gold medal success in the most recent Olympics at the time.
Since those comments, Shields has made it her point to not only win her fights but also become a box office attraction for women’s boxing. She is as charming as she is strong in the ring. With that type of quality, she seeks to sell her fights in ways that women just haven’t before.
Most recently, Ali was asked once again whether or not she would take on Shields in a match. She responded, saying, “Unless somebody has $15-$20 million, don’t even call me about this.”
A few days later, Shields seemingly called Ali’s bluff, producing a video in which she presented a check for $15 million to pay Ali to sign on to fight her.
The business of boxing
Now, as a marketing ploy, I find this to be genius! The G.W.O.A.T is obviously promoting herself through this. But with athletes having the ego that they do, fans have to wonder, “Will Ali take the bait?” At 47, Ali is 17 years Shields’ senior. From an athletic standpoint, we’re fine to assume that Ali won’t be what she once was. However, there’s always that possibility that for one night, she can be.
That’s the type of selling point you can have for such a generational fight such as this. If Shields can back up all of her smack talk, she will be known to be someone who was never writing checks her fists couldn’t cash. As I enjoy saying, I see the vision. Do I think this fight will actually happen? I do. We’ve seen crazier things happen. So, if that $15 million is legit, you absolutely have to consider it from Ali’s side. If this does go down, it’s bound to be the biggest women’s combat fight of all time. With that potential riding on it, I ask this: Why not?
