"I'd love to get inside the cage or the ring" - Claressa Shields interested in fighting Amanda Nunes, Kayla Harrison and Cris Cyborg
Claressa Shields has given her thoughts on the possibility of fighting the likes of Amanda Nunes, Kayla Harrison and Cris Cyborg.
While her mixed martial arts record may only be 1-1, Claressa Shields is still one of the most intriguing female figures in the sport. She has an incredible work ethic that she's carried over from the squared circle. As she continues to balance MMA and boxing, it should come as no surprise that PFL believes in her ability to bounce back from her defeat to Abigail Montes last October.
In a recent interview ahead of her boxing return this weekend, Shields spoke candidly about dream opponents:
“I would love to get inside the cage, or the ring, with Amanda Nunes, Kayla Harrison, Cris Cyborg, all the girls who are at the top of MMA. I would love to try my luck with them in MMA, and of course, in boxing. In MMA, we’ve never had a fight where it was two Olympic gold medalists to fight each other, so that would be me and Kayla Harrison. Amanda Nunes is just a force to be reckoned with. She’s got a big punch, she can wrestle, she can do jiu-jitsu, she’s the best. Me being who I am, it’s like, I wanna train hard enough and for the right amount of time to where if I ever had to get inside the cage with her, I want the world to know I’m about to give this woman hell, even though she’s the best!”
“Cris Cyborg, one, to me she’s the most dangerous MMA woman fighter, ever. To me. I know Amanda Nunes knocked her out but to me, Cris is scary.”
"I would want to try my luck with all those great women [Harrison, Nunes, Cyborg] because they're the best and I'm the best."
@ClaressaShields joined @AngieOverkill and @RyanMcKinnell to discuss some dream MMA matchups ahead of her upcoming boxing match with Ema Kozin this week https://t.co/tkN2U2gjv7
What's next for Claressa Shields?
As previously noted, boxing is back on the cards this weekend in Cardiff, Wales when Shields defends her WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring female middleweight titles against Ema Kozin at the Motorpoint Arena.
She will try and take her professional record to 12-0 and, following that, it's likely she will look into taking a mixed martial arts bout.
This isn't confirmed but, with how passionately she talks about it, something tells us she isn't going to stop until she reaches the top.