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MIAMI, FL – APRIL 04: WBA, WBC and IBF Middleweight World Champion Claressa Shields poses for the media before her workout at 5th Street Gym on April 4, 2019 in Miami, Florida. Shields is training to fight WBO Middleweight World Champion Christina Hammer for the undisputed middleweight world championship April 13. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
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MIAMI, FL – APRIL 04: WBA, WBC and IBF Middleweight World Champion Claressa Shields poses for the media before her workout at 5th Street Gym on April 4, 2019 in Miami, Florida. Shields is training to fight WBO Middleweight World Champion Christina Hammer for the undisputed middleweight world championship April 13. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Claressa Shields will make her professional MMA debut in a women’s lightweight clash against Brittney Elkin under the PFL banner. Ahead of the bout, Claressa Shields spoke about the boxing and MMA communities’ reactions to her transition to a different combat sport.
Even the best amongst the best in any sport have haters. As ‘T-Rex’ prepares for her MMA debut on June 10, she sat down with Oscar Willis of The Mac Life and opened up about her haters.
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BREAKING: @Claressashields faces off against Brittney Elkin at #2021PFL4 on June 10th! pic.twitter.com/Ke3G5mMTsg
— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 14, 2021
In the interview, Oscar Willis asked Shields for her thoughts on the 50-50 reactions of the Boxing and MMA community.
‘T-Rex’ replied – “I have haters, okay. So, with my boxing, I feel like, with my MMA, the boxing fans who hated me are like, yes! ‘We finally get to see her lose’. So, they’re becoming my MMA fan, but they’re a hater.
“They’re like, ‘we want her to lose’. So, some of the boxing fans have come to become MMA fans of me, and they want me to lose.”
Read More: Claressa Shields Reveals that Jon Jones Has Been Helping Her Battle Anxiety Before PFL Debut
Claressa Shields believes the MMA community respects her decision
Besides the former UFC Women’s bantamweight champion, Holly Holm, Shields is the only successful professional woman boxer to decide to step inside the cage. She believes her decision has helped her earn the respect of the MMA community.
To support her claim, ‘T-Rex’ said – “There’s a lot of boxers who say – ‘Oh, I’ll kick this person a**, or I’ll do this’. But it’s like, will, you fight them in the cage. And the answer has always been no.”
To further explain her belief, Shields talked about the former pound-for-pound king, Floyd Mayweather‘s boxing match against the former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor.
Shields said – “Like, Floyd Mayweather didn’t get in the cage with Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor got in the ring with Floyd though.”
Read More: ‘McGregor Has Sent Me Tips’- Claressa Shields Says Conor McGregor Has Been Helping Her Prepare
Claressa Shields has had a successful professional boxing career. ‘T-Rex’ is the only boxer in history, female or male, to hold all four top world titles in boxing simultaneously, in two weight classes. And she is aiming to do the same in MMA.
What do you think? Will Claressa Shields carry her boxing success to MMA?
