Claressa Shields is putting her undisputed heavyweight title on the line against Lani Daniels Saturday, July 26, but a piece of her mind is occupied by someone else.
Laila Ali.
Shields and her team have said they put $15 million in escrow for Ali — provided she agrees to fight Shields. Four days since they made the offer, Ali has yet to respond, according to Shields.
“Do you want to entertain a fight or do you not?’’ Shields said, referring to Muhammad Ali’s daughter. “And I think that she should let me and the public know because the public is very, very interested. …
‘Honestly, a fight with me and Laila Ali would be one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing. I think we should do it for the culture. We should do it for the boxing culture. We should do it for so many to prove who is the best.”
On second thought…
‘I don’t need to prove to the world that I’m better than Laila,” Shields said. ‘I think everyone knows that.’
Ali did not respond to requests for comment left by USA TODAY Sports by email and voicemail and text message on a phone number listed in her name.
Shields, 30, also suggested Ali, 47, should not be considered too old to fight.
“I see people complaining and saying her age and everything,’’ Shields said. “But Laila has been constantly picking at me, constantly talking trash about me for the past, I don’t know, six, seven years. And she always talks about how she can come out of retirement and the reason she hasn’t come out of retirement (is) because nobody’s good enough, the bag isn’t good enough.’’
Raising the stakes
Shields and her team raised the stakes July 18 when, in a video published by TMZ, they said they had put $15 million in escrow for Ali.
Ali, the eighth of Muhammad Ali’s nine children, was 24-0 with 21 knockouts during a pro boxing career that spanned from 1999 to 2007. Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is 16-0 with 3 KOs as a pro.
Does Shields think Ali will take the fight?
“Listen, I have no idea,” she replied, ‘but I know I can be 60 and if one of these young girls come calling me out when they got $15 million, I’m stepping out. I’m stepping up and I’m going to get the money. Especially if I’m in good shape and I’m helping and I believe that I can still fight. I’m definitely going to do it.’’
Shields indicated that Ali’s disrespect for her is one reason she wants to fight.
“When you said I didn’t have skills, I didn’t have power, that I can’t keep you off of me, that I’m not skilled enough, I’m not good enough,’’ Shields said. “I just want to get inside the ring with her to show her I am a hundred times better than you, even though I’m smaller than you. Because Laila is bigger than me, but size do not win fights.
“Hopefully by beating her I earn her respect and she can put up a good fight and she can earn mine because she don’t got mine either.’’