Is Claressa Shields Making Women’s Boxing Matter?

It’s safe to say that women’s boxing is heating up and finally getting some recognition. OnJanuary 12at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY, Claressa Shields will meet her second consecutive undefeated opponent she faces Tori Nelson. The fight will be the main event on Showtime’s ShoBox: The Next Generation series with Christina Hammer making her American debut on the undercard against an opponent yet to be determined. It will be the second time in a row Shields has headlined a Showtime card.

Shields, who turned pro after winning her second consecutive Olympic gold medal seemed to struggle at first making the transition between the amateur and professional ranks until her last fight. She looked absolutely superb in a dominant win over Nikki Adler. The victory made Shields the IBF and WBC super middleweight champion. The Flint, Michigan native is 4-0 with 2 KOs and coming off the best performance of her young career.

Showtime is calling this card the ‘Road To History’, a fitting name as the plan is to have Shields face Hammer in the near future. The two had quite an exchange in the post fight interview after Shields beat Adler and it only left people wondering how long will they have to wait for the possible showdown. Hammer is 22-0 with 10 KOs and currently holds the WBC and WBO middleweight championship belts, a truly great fighter in her own right.

In the post fight interview Christina told Claressa; “it was a good fight but not good for me, I will beat them both” to which Shields replied; “ you say that now when you’re in a dress and I’m in gear, get your gear and I’ll kick your ass right now!” It was a great exchange between two of the best female fighters in the world and hopefully in the near future we get to see them in the ring together.

The fact that Showtime is putting female boxing in the spotlight is a great thing to see as some of these talented women go unnoticed in America. Hopefully this is the beginning of something great for the ladies so they can get their just due. Maybe even someday in the future we will get to see the likes of Cecilia Brækhus, (widely considered the best female fighter in the world), of Norway make her American debut. The First Lady Of Boxing is mostly known here because her last opponent kissed her in the pre-fight press conference.