"She doesn't want to fight me" - Claressa Shields claims Cris Cyborg backed out of 'Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou' type offer for boxing bout
Claressa Shields recently opened up about her ongoing beef with Cris Cyborg, claiming that the Women's MMA legend rejected a boxing bout after receiving a very lucrative offer.
Shields and Cyborg have been involved in an ongoing back-and-forth on social media and even had a brief exchange at the Super Bowl radio row. During her appearance on today's episode of The MMA Hour, the boxing champion-turned-PFL fighter mentioned that she had proposed the Bellator women's featherweight champion to somebody who wanted to put the fight together, but it failed to materialize:
"A guy had some money for me and Cris Cyborg to fight. He was speaking of a fight as big as Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou...All of the sudden, the money is right, everything is good, she's crying about the weight class. I already told you what weight class the fight was going to be at, 154 [pounds]. Why are you trying to get me to come to 147 [pounds]?...Cris Cyborg does not want to fight me."
Since both Claressa Shields and Cyborg are under contract with the PFL, it will be interesting to see whether the promotion will attempt to book a fight between the two either in mixed ruled, boxing, or MMA.
Check out the full video below:
Claressa Shields dismisses Cris Cyborg's boxing ability
It appears as though Claressa Shields isn't very impressed with Cris Cyborg's performances in the squared circle, as she recently dismissed her ability as a boxer.
During the aforementioned appearance, the boxer-turned-MMA fighter mentioned that she sparred with Cyborg in 2018. She didn't believe she could be successful in the sport:
"When I sparred against Cris Cyborg in 2018, I took it easy on her...The first and second round, I beat the sh*t outta Cris Cyborg. She cannot box, okay...Cris Cyborg got power in MMA cause you got all different arts you could use. In boxing, Cris Cyborg, she can't mess with me on the day that I'm sick with the flu."