The beef in Women’s Boxing that must be settled!
When Claressa Shields defeated Christina Hammer on April 13, she became the undisputed middleweight champion. She also, to many, became the number one women’s Pound-for-Pound fighter in the sport. She completed a feat rarely done in boxing and is already considered one of the best to ever do it in under ten fights!
Despite all of her accomplishments, those who follow and cover women’s boxing know that Shields still has her fair share of rivalries. While 3KingsBoxing has discussed her various back-and-forth battles with other female boxers on social media, there is one beef really worth paying attention to; the ongoing issues with fellow middleweight Raquel Miller.
For those unaware, the two have a history that goes back quite a few years. In 2012, while Shields was en route to winning the first of her two Olympic Gold Medals at the Olympics in London, Miller was an alternate for the Olympic team in helping prepare Shields during the games.
Shields and Miller fought twice as amateurs, with Shields defeating Miller on both occasions by decision. Also, since turning pro in 2016, both Shields and Miller have traded verbal and social media shots towards each other. Over the past year, the sparring over social media has become particularly heated.
Shields claims she offered Miller an opportunity to fight in 2018. However, Miller’s promoter Lou DiBella vehemently denies this. Miller, in turn, responds the undisputed champion is not about the overall betterment for women’s boxing. Then, following Miller’s KO win over Erin Toughgill to win the NABF Women’s Middleweight title on May 18, both Miller and Shields went back and forth with some not-so-kind kind words on Instagram.
The new NABF champion would represent one of the hardest and toughest fights of Shields career. For those who have seen Miller in action they know she can really fight. Look at the women’s boxing landscape from 154-168lbs and Miller is easily one of the better fighters out there.
Bottom line is, a showdown between these two would be a heck of a battle. In fact, it would be one of the better fights in women’s boxing right now. Let’s hope a fight between these two ladies can be made so they can settle their score.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
