WATCH | Claressa Shields gets brutally dropped sparring with male boxer
World boxing champion and PFL star Claressa Shields has responded after a video leaked of her being dropped in sparring.
The female middleweight champion has been out of the ring since a decision win over Maricela Cornejo in June. That victory was a big one for Claressa Shields, as it came in her hometown of Detroit. Not long following the bout, the boxing champion signed a deal to return to the PFL in 2024. As of now, she’s expected to meet rival Savannah Marshall in a rematch at some point next year.
Earlier today, footage was released from a 2018 sparring session with Claressa Shields. 6-1 pro boxer Arturs Ahmetovs himself released the footage on social media, showing himself flooring the PFL star. However, while the clip itself is only a few seconds long, it does show the champion falling back flat to the mat.
That being said, it didn’t take long for Claressa Shields to respond to the leaked clip. On social media, she responded in a lengthy Instagram livestream, slamming Ahmetovs, as well as his coach. According to the Detroit native, her sparring partner had taken the padding out of his gloves before their session.
Furthermore, she nearly cut the boxer’s trainer, afterward for the infraction. In the Instagram live stream discussing the infamous sparring session, Claressa Shields also stated how grateful she was, that the incident didn’t impact her career.
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“Why did you win and put them gloves in the bag,” Claressa Shields stated in an Instagram live stream earlier today, reacting to the release of the sparring footage. “Why did you try to hide the bag? Hide those gloves? Answer me that Derrick Santos. Talking about ‘These gloves were gifted by Roberto Duran to me and I didn’t know that much padding was in there’. The gloves had next to no padding in them, period. That’s what it’s about. You think I have a problem getting dropped? It’s boxing, it happens! I’ve been hit so hard I’ve seen stars!”
Claressa Shields continued, discussing the aftermath of the sparring session, “… I don’t give a f*ck about being dropped. What I will say is when a **** try to cheat me, you’ve got me f*cked up. Yes, I ran to my car, and I grabbed my knife, and I was going to cut Derrick Santos. Guess who stopped me? Coach John… Don’t ever cheat against me. I’m just grateful that in my career, that happened to me… Even though it happened, I’m happy it didn’t hurt my career, moving forward. I’ve only been dropped one time [since].”
What do you make of this news? Are you excited about Claressa Shields’s PFL return slated for 2024? Who do you want to see her face next?
Topics:
Boxing News Claressa Shields
