Claressa Shields had a lot of reasons to make the move from boxing to mixed martial arts with her first professional fight now just a matter of days away.
Despite being a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a multi-time, multi-division champion in her chosen sport of boxing, the 26-year-old Michigan native still hasn’t received the kind of attention, money or appreciation that should come along with those kinds of accomplishments.
Shields has taken aim at boxing promoters and their broadcast partners in the past for what she believes is nothing more than sexism when it comes to women’s boxers not being given nearly the same kind of opportunities as their male counterparts.