*Laila Ali and Claressa Shields, the current women’s three division titleholder, appear to be itching to hit the ring together as the two have exchanged jabs through the media since the beginning of the year.
In an interview with ESPN, Ali said she wants to go toe-to-toe with Shields for an epic showdown “especially [because of Shields’] mouth. When it’s personal that starts a fire, right? And when the money’s right and it makes sense, then why not?”
Shields is also down for a boxing match with Ali but she’s not convinced it’s worth the $5 million price that Laila is asking for.
Back in January, Laila trashed Shields on ‘Sway in the Morning,’ saying she would destroy her if they ever fought. She also claimed Claressa called her a bad businesswoman — something Shields denies ever saying, TMZ reports.
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Claressa said when she reached out to Laila’s DMs in an effort to clear the air, Ali fired off a series of nasty responses.
“She goes, You are a real punk. Talking all that sh*t publicly but trying to make nice in private,'” Shields explained.
Here’s another message Shields claims she received from Ali:
“I’m gonna teach you a whole lot of things that will make you a better fighter and person. Lesson #1: Learn to shut your mouth about money being there because it’s not there until it’s in an escrow account.”
“I can see right through you and always have. So just be patient, and hopefully you will have the opportunity to try and knock me out. Even though you’re not even hurting these soft girls you have been fighting.”
Claressa responded — “I hurt everybody I fight. But the girls are way tougher now, and they don’t go down now like they went down back in the day. Those bitches was soft.”
Shields also wrote to Ali on Twitter, saying: “Stop asking for insane split. It’s ridiculous. Also come out of retirement. Make an official announcement and say you are not retired. No one believes the talk coming from her. I’m fighting and taking all challenges! Not hard to make a fight with me.”
In another tweet she added, “When I hear a[n] official ‘I’m out of retirement’ talk then I’ll believe it. Also when her team starts talking “REAL NUMBERS” and splits. Not saying that me and her can’t generate 15 million or 5 million. Just saying that it hasn’t been proven in our sport yet.”
Scroll up and hear Claressa tell it via the clip above.
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