While they don’t always see eye to eye, Claressa Shields’ bold claims about beating Rolando “Rolly” Romero drew a sharp reaction from Alycia Baumgardner. Shields believes she has enough skills to defeat Romero, who holds the WBA belt in the welterweight division. Her comments, including a heated debate with Shannon Sharpe, gained considerable traction.

Not everyone’s buying the idea, however, particularly Alycia Baumgardner. Not because her relationship with Claressa Shields is strained, but because the idea of a woman fighting a man sounds unrealistic. Amid instances of calling each other out, Baumgardner has been forging her own path, one that saw her join Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP). After defending her title on the Paul-AJ card this past December, she’s now preparing to headline next month on the inaugural MVP-ESPN card. On “The Last Stand,” where host Brian Custer shared Romero’s response, she said she would rather let her achievements speak for themselves than seek reaffirmation by fighting a male boxer.

“I don’t have anything to prove. And that’s the bottom line. I don’t have anything to prove to my male counterparts to say, “I can beat you,” Baumgardner told Custer. “Again, I think that’s an ego thing. I think that’s something that needs to be looked at.”

In the previous episode of “The Last Stand,” Romero weighed in on the two-time Olympic gold medalist and multi-division champion’s comments.

“I believe her. I believe she can beat me,” he told Custer.

Even if Romero mentioned it jokingly, it still earned him some appreciation from Baumgardner when Custer shared his response.

“You know, credit to Rolly for answering the way he answered. “I’m not going around saying I can beat up a man,” Baumgardner said. “Because at the end of the day, a man is who a man is, and I am a woman, and I love being a woman, and I love being soft about that. But I also love working with my male counterparts and know what they do to help me get prepared for a fight. So I don’t need to fight a man to say I’m good.”

Custer likely brought up the topic given the heated rivalry Baumgardner shares with Shields. It also adds to the conversation about boxing legacy.

Claressa Shields’ bold callout leaves Rolando Romero scratching his head

While Baumgardner claims she’s the “face of boxing,” Shields has more often than not asserted herself as the greatest woman boxer of all time.

It is likely to support that argument, and given that she frequently spars with male boxers, Shields felt she had the wherewithal to stop a fighter like Rolando Romero.

“I’d beat Rolly; he’s a world champion,” she said on the “Justin Laboy Show” this past December. “It’s not about—I think Rolly is very unorthodox. He’s very strong, right? But I’m way taller than him, way longer than him, and have better boxing skills.”

She later argued with Shannon Sharpe on “Nightcap,” where the former footballer-turned-podcaster disagreed with her claims.

Meanwhile, the situation continues to perplex the central figure in the story – Rolando Romero. Wondering why Shields frequently targets him, on “Mr. Verzace Podcast,” he offered a measured take, applauding Shields as the GOAT of women’s boxing.

“I don’t know why specifically it’s me,” he said. “I think, of course, she is the greatest fighter of all time. The greatest female fighter of all time. There’s no ifs, buts, or questions about that. But I don’t know why she always targets me.”

Not that Romero is the first male fighter on Shields’ radar. In the past, she has echoed similar sentiments while speaking about former champion Keith Thurman. This pattern of frequent callouts to men, thus, continues to befuddle fans and observers.

No one questions Shields’ accomplishments. But fighting a man isn’t proof when everyone knows it won’t happen.