The feud between Claressa Shields and Alycia Baumgardner has now gone on for well over a year. The friends-turned-foes have been trading jabs on X for the better part of last year with some of those interactions even spilling into the non-virtual world. This is why many feel that there might be an eventual boxing match between the two undisputed champions in order sometime in the future. But Baumgardner’s recent professional tie-up with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions may put that potential fight in jeopardy. If you have to ask why, then you don’t know the mutual hatred Shields shares with the Problem Child.
As for MVP, the promotion is gearing up for a landmark event headlined by Katie Taylor defending her undisputed super lightweight titles against MVP star Amanda Serrano in the trilogy fight. This historic all-women’s card, set for July 11 at Madison Square Garden, will stream live on Netflix. The undisputed heavyweight champion’s rival, Alycia Baumgardner would also be a part of this historic all-women’s boxing event, making her MVP debut and defending her super featherweight titles. As a result, the MVP team gathered at MSG Theater this past Wednesday for the event’s official press conference, where amid the discussions several things came up including Claressa Shields’ name. It was here that MVP Co-Founder Nakisa Bidarian decided to speak on the chances of the two rivals fighting sometime in the future.
When asked about the potential fight, Bidarian swiftly replied, “I think Claressa Shields is walking around like a 190 lbs right now. And,Alycia is walking around at 132-133. So, if Claressa Shields wants the biggest payday of her life, she’s gonna have to figure out how to get to a weight class that makes sense for Alycia Baumgardner, right?” Bidarian said, looking over at the undisputed super featherweight champion standing next to him who shook her head in agreement. What this means is that it is Claressa who is going to have to come down at least up to welterweight if she wishes to make the fight.
“That’s just the reality of it. MVP puts on the biggest events for women in boxing—not what she does,” the CEO continued in an obvious barb at Claressa Shields. Clearly, he thinks that if Shields wants to fight matches that truly matter, signing a deal with their promotion is the right way to go around it.
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In the end, Bidarian only had this to sum it all up: “If she [Claressa Shields] wants to have that opportunity against this champion [Alycia Baumgardner], she’s got to make the effort,” again alluding to Shields having to make the effort to come down in weight if wants the fight to happen. Sure, who wouldn’t want to see a fight between two undisputed champions? But considering the massive weight gap between the two, the chances of the fight materializing are slim to none. And what about the two-time Olympic gold medalist? Does she have a say in this?
Claressa Shields on dropping weight to face Alycia Baumgardner
“I can go to 54, I can go to 60 or 68, 75 but 47? Like I said if they not coming with like the big bag to where I got to lose my big old booty I’m not doing that,” replied Shields last week when asked about dropping the weight to fight her rival. Considering that she has never fought below light middleweight in her career, the demand from Bidarian seems too much. However, one has to consider that Baumgardner herself has never fought above the super lightweight limit. Even a hefty price tag may not be able to bring this fight to fruition.
However, according to Baumgardner, Shields had earlier agreed to fight her at 147 lbs only to later abandon it. “I agreed to fight Claressa at 147 pounds. She agreed to it. There is proof that she said this,” the 30-year-old stated in a recent tweet. “We can fight at 147, like I stated. If she don’t want it, she don’t want it. Competition is at the 130-to-147 range, and that’s where I plan to reign at. Right now, it doesn’t make sense to go up to 154 pounds,” she added. It seems that weight is the determining factor in this matchup and until that issue is sorted out the promise of “biggest payday” will mean nothing to either Claressa Shields or Alycia Baumgardner.
Do you think there is any chance the Shields-Baumgardner bout may happen?
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