The Claressa Shields vs Cecilia Braekhus War of Words Escalates
The back and forth exchange/trash talk between undisputed middleweight and WBC/WBO Jr. Middleweight champion Claressa Shields (10-0, 2 KOs) and undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Breakhus (36-0, 9 KOs) doesn’t look to be ending anytime soon!
Shields, the self-proclaimed GWOAT (Greatest Woman Of All-Time) of women’s boxing has had her sights set on a showdown against Braekhus to the point where she has dropped down in weight from super middleweight, to middleweight to now junior middleweight all in hopes of landing a fight against the woman known as “First Lady”.
CECILIA BRAEKHUS UNBOTHERED
So far, her efforts have come up in vain. And according to Breakhus, during an April 3 Instagram live chat with Curran Bhatia of the Ask The Experts Podcast with Curran Bhatia, the welterweight queen said it’s not an issue of weight or locale, it was simply an issue of money.
The bottom line for her is when she got the chance to sign a multi-fight, mega-deal with Matchroom Boxing in 2019, she took it and the offer from SHOWTIME to fight Shields simply wasn’t good enough.
For Braekhus, if Shields wants the fight to happen, she needs to go back to her team and SHOWTIME, and put in the work behind the scenes to make it happen. At this point, she seems fed up with the whole matter, as she has blocked Shields on Twitter (who initially blocked Braekhus).
CLARESSA SHIELDS RESPONDS
Well, you know that when it comes to Shields, she is never one to turn away from face-to-face or social media confrontation and is always ready to clap back.
Hearing what Breakhus said, she gave her side of the story during an Instagram live chat with Bhatia the following day.
“That is all lies. She throws a rock and then hides her hands… I’m not going to let her use my name to build fame for herself because she’s not really known in the U.S.
“She kept saying my name, so me and my team want to have some kind of negotiation.
“And they didn’t want to have any real conversation. SHOWTIME said they would make us the main event on SHOWTIME Pay-Per-View if me and her was to fight.”
Shields went on to claim that Braekhus not only could have made $1 million for the fight, but she would have also been able to keep her welterweight titles, with a provision the fight takes place at a catchweight of 150lbs.
Wait, there’s more!
Shields went on to accuse Braekhus of not caring about legacy and ducking fighters Layla McCarter and a rematch against Kali Reis (who Breakhus defeated in May 2018).
While Shields admitted to blocking Braekhus on twitter, during the interview she said that she’s since unblocked her and added an even more tempting proposition of making the fight in Braekhus’ home country of Norway.
WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?
Now that’s a lot to ponder about. But the ultimate question is, will we see this fight eventually happen? Not anytime soon, if ever.
One, the sport is at a standstill for the foreseeable future as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. And if the sport returns to normalcy, both Shields and Braekhus have bouts lined up.
Shields’ next fight is against IBF Jr. Middleweight Women’s Champion Marie Eve-Dicaire while Braekhus will next face WBC/WBA Women’s Jr. Welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill.
For the 38-year-old from Bergen, Norway, her sights are set on a super-fight against undisputed Lightweight champion Katie Taylor, should she win her upcoming bout against seven-division champion Amanda Serrano.
Shields – Braekhus is potentially the highest-grossing bout in the history of women’s boxing. But with the sport stalled for the moment, coupled with both the age of Braekhus and her sights elsewhere, this dream match-up seems to be more fantasy than a true reality, no matter how bad Shields wants it to happen.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
