Shields: Price Must ‘Come To America If She Wants Smoke’

[Ruthless-RKO]

Shields: Price Must ‘Come To America If She Wants Smoke’

Reigning female undisputed heavyweight champion Claressa Shields was a surprise visitor on Saturday night.

The Detroit native made the hush-hush trip to the Welsh capital to watch welterweight Lauren Price successfully defend her titles against Stephanie Pineiro ahead of a potential superfight.

"She's Olympic champion, and she's undefeated, she's hungry, and she feels she's the next best and skilled enough that she can beat me in a fight," Shields (18-0, 3 KOs) told The Ring.

Price is naturally smaller, competing at 147 pounds, while Shields has won world titles at middleweight, super middleweight and is the current heavyweight champion. Shields, who defeated Ema Kozin (UD 10) in Cardiff in January 2022, is happy to entertain her rival but says she's the A-side and calling the shots.

"I believe 160 is the lowest option, really 165, honestly," she said. "For some who complain about me being too big and strong, I would try and eat a few less burgers to get down to 160."

Another question is where the fight would take place.

"You want me to come to the UK, you pay me that money," she said. "Lauren fought in front of 7,000, I fought in front of 18,000. I've had sold-out events in my last three fights. We know I'm a big draw. "As far as me and Price, I am the bigger star. I'm the more accomplished fighter. I am pound-for-pound No. 1. She wants to be mentioned in those names, but it's always me coming to get these girls and not these girls coming to get me. I don't think Lauren is big enough for me to come over here in the UK. She has to come to America if she wants the smoke.

"I'm not going to say the fight's off or can't be made if she says, 'I'm too scared to come to America, I want to fight here.' I'll be like, 'It's OK.'"

While Price is smaller, she believes her speed would help her upset Shields. The self-styled "GWOAT" disagrees.

"Lauren is not faster than me," she said. "I saw the film. You're 5-foot-5, you look fast, your arms are short, you're not faster than me. No, your speed is not faster than mine, your footwork is not better than mine, you don't punch harder than me. As far as defense, we know you've got to work on that."

Shields. who claimed gold at the 2012 and '16 Olympics before turning professional in the fall of '16, remains unbeaten and says she always finds a way to win. She expects that if the Price fight happens, she would bring out her best.

"I'm very hard to beat. You can be stronger, you can be faster, you can have more fights, you can be bigger, you can be smaller, and I still dominate," she said.

"I'm looking forward to fighting a girl who has some of that same experience, Olympic champion, undefeated. I’ve fought girls who were undefeated, but they weren't Olympic champions. I think Olympic champions are very, very hard to beat, because, of course, I am one."

[Ruthless-RKO]

The fight is bigger in UK than in the US.

Shields knows this and should know this from when she fought Savannah Marshall over here few years back.

Price ain’t no Marshall and I think Shields will win, but it’s probably gonna be in front of 500 people in US.

They can make an event out of this and have way more.

[Boxerbeetle]

Shields is much too big for Price.

[stujones]

Yeah, think if Price could entice Savannah Marshall back, that would be a tall order for the Welsh lass. shields would be both too big and too good.

[lookingaround87]

I thought this was Ronnie Shields talking about David Price, that's how little women's boxing means to me.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Claressa Shields-Lauren Price: Promoter keen on making ‘era-defining’ clash

Claressa Shields and Lauren Price, two Olympic gold medalists, could be headed for a clash, according to Shields' promoter.

Price defeated Stephanie Pineiro Aquino via 10-round unanimous decision on Saturday in the main event from Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales. Price, a 2020 Olympic gold medalist, faced off with Shields, a two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist, after the win.

Price, 10-0 (2 KOs), is currently a unified welterweight champion, coming in just under the 147lbs limit for her latest contest, as she made her third title defense.

Shields, on the other hand, has fought at women’s heavyweight (175lbs) since July 2024. Before that, she competed at middleweight and hasn’t fought at junior middleweight since 2021.

One thing they do have in common, however, is that between them, they won the first three women’s middleweight gold medals at the Olympics.

“The goal is to make the fight as soon as possible at a weight that works for both boxers,” Dmitriy Salita, the promoter of Shields, told BS. “It’s the kind of matchup that defines an era.”

Shields, 18-0 (3 KOs), has also become a notable ticket seller in Detroit. She most recently won a 10-round unanimous decision over Franchon Crews-Dezurn in February. Flint, Michigan’s Shields has also fought in Britain, defeating rival Savannah Marshall in 2022.

“[It is] one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing,” Salita said. “Two Olympic gold medalists in the same weight class, both at the top of the sport, representing dominant regions, the U.K. and U.S.A.”

If the bout were to happen, it would pit two eras of women’s boxing, even though Price, a 31-year-old from Newport, Wales, is older than Shields. Price started boxing after seeing the 2012 Olympics, the same Olympics in which the now 30-year-old Shields won gold. Shields is a five-division titleholder and a three-division undisputed champion, who is running out of suitable opponents to face.

“Claressa’s commitment to taking on the biggest challenges and continuing to grow the sport is unprecedented,” Salita said. “[It is] another legacy-building moment for the GWOAT (Shields).”

[smiling assassin]

I thought this was Ronnie Shields talking about David Price, that's how little women's boxing means to me.

I think it means very little to a lot of boxing fans. The round by round thread of the women’s card the other night tells us that. I’d love to see the viewing figures, bet they were terrible.

[tigermoth87]

Shields always comes across as the biggest bellend in boxing.

Someone should tell her nobody cares about women's boxing.

If she competed in the mens middleweight division she would be ranked 1993 on Boxrec

[gilgamesh]

The fact that the Women's Heavyweight Champion vs The Women's Welterweight Champion is being presented as an "Era defining clash" says it all about Women's Boxing.

There's like 5 girls that can fight in the entire sport, and a bunch of others who got really into pilates or something and figured out they can get paid pretty decent by having bad fights with other girls who can't fight.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Looking like a 2-fight deal.

Fight one has been finalised.

They working on fight two negotiations.

[Coco]

Looking like a 2-fight deal.

Fight one has been finalised.

They working on fight two negotiations.

Boxxer involved?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Looking like a 2-fight deal.

Fight one has been finalised.

They working on fight two negotiations.

Boxxer involved?

Yh. Ben is the one who confirmed this.

[MPW]

The weight class, or most likely the catchweight, will be an interesting consideration of this potential fight. In an early part of the thread, Shields said that 165 was the probable lower limit for her, while Price typically fights at 147. That's an 18-pound difference or more than 12% of the WW limit.

Price clearly has boxing skills and athleticism but so does Shields, who will also have a significant size advantage in the ring. And, as much as it pains me to type this, I think that the size discrepancy will ultimately prove too much for the Welshwoman to overcome.

[Ruthless-RKO]

SHIELDS, PRICE NEARING DEAL FOR MIDDLEWEIGHT FIGHT EARLY IN 2027

Claressa Shields will drop back down in weight to fight an undefeated, unified champ who is also on pound-for-pound lists – just not the one she initially targeted.

Dmitriy Salita, Shields’ career-long promoter, informed The Ring that ongoing negotiations should lead to a deal for Shields to face fellow Olympic gold medalist Lauren Price in a middleweight match on a date to be determined in the first quarter of 2027, somewhere in the United States. Shields and Price expect to fight other opponents before they meet, perhaps on the same card.

Shields exhausted most of her options at heavyweight (175 pounds for women) and super middleweight and turned her attention to Price once a much-discussed showdown with former U.S. Olympic teammate Mikaela Mayer didn’t materialize.
“Our intent is to make a Claressa-Lauren fight,” Salita told The Ring. “Claressa flew out to Wales for Lauren Price’s last fight and obviously demonstrated her interest in making it. We’ve since had meaningful discussions [with Ben Shalom, Price’s promoter] and they’ve exchanged some words, as fighters do.

“They’re two Olympic gold medalists. It’s one of the biggest fights in boxing and the biggest fight in women’s boxing, and it would be another legacy-making statement for Claressa Shields. There are details that still need to be ironed out, but we’re optimistic that at some point it will get done.”

Shields (18-0, 3 KOs), a five-division champion from Flint, Michigan, hasn’t competed at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds in three years. The former undisputed middleweight champ has weighed at least 173½ pounds for each of her four fights since she defended her Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO belts against Maricela Cornejo, a late replacement Shields defeated by unanimous decision in June 2023.

Price (10-0, 2 KOs) – a southpaw from Ystrad, Mynach, Wales – has competed at welterweight since she made her pro debut in June 2022. The Ring, IBF, WBA and WBC 147-pound champ won a gold medal in the 165-pound division, however, at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and is thus accustomed to succeeding at a higher weight.

Shields, 31, is ranked No. 2 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list. Price, also 31, is No. 8, five spots below the third-ranked Mayer.

Las Vegas’ Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs) is scheduled to face fifth-ranked Brit Chantelle Cameron (22-1, 8 KOs) in a 10-round fight for Mayer’s WBA and WBC and Cameron’s WBO 154-pound titles August 29 at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Claressa Shield vs Lauren Price talks are 'ongoing' after American star reclaimed world middleweight titles in Atlanta

Claressa Shields became world middleweight champion for a third time after a sixth-round stoppage of Kaye Scott in Atlanta; promoter Dmitriy Salita says talks are 'ongoing' for Shields to face Lauren Price who is a unified world welterweight champion and a fellow Olympic gold medallist

Negotiations for a Claressa Shields vs Lauren Price fight are ongoing after the American star reclaimed two world middleweight titles on Saturday.

Shields took back WBC and WBA belts with a ruthless sixth-round stoppage of Kaye Scott as the unbeaten Michigan fighter became a middleweight world champion for a third time.

Price, the unified welterweight champion, could be the next opponent for Shields and the American's promoter Dmitriy Salita is keen to finalise terms for a battle between two Olympic gold medallists.

"We're working on it as we speak," Salita told Sky Sports.

"Our intention is to make the fight. Based on my understanding, we have agreed to all the requests from [Price's promotional team] BOXXER and Lauren's side.

"I invited Lauren and her team to the fight because my relationship with the fighters we promote, and certainly with Claressa, is that they know all the moving parts and are business partners in making these decisions.

"I wanted Lauren and Claressa to have an opportunity to sit down together and see if there was anything outstanding. Claressa is extremely intelligent and very experienced in making big fights, and I'm sure Lauren is sharp as well.

"Unfortunately, they weren't able to make it, but the conversations are ongoing and we want to make the fight."

Shields has also been linked with a fight against WBO and IBF world middleweight champion Tamm Thibeault and fellow American Mikaela Mayer, who faces Chantelle Cameron in a unified world super-welterweight title fight in Birmingham on August 29, live on Sky Sports.

"Claressa wants to fight the best and be part of the biggest, most impactful events - that's always been clear," said Salita.

"There are a few other conversations taking place in case the Lauren Price fight doesn't come together.

"We'll make a decision soon, but whatever is next, the goal is for it to be another legacy-making moment for Claressa and for boxing."

Shields attracted a huge crowd to State Farm Arena in Atlanta, including some of the biggest names in boxing and music, and Salita believes his fighter's reputation has transcended sport.

"It was incredible. We were getting calls and requests from some of the biggest stars in hip-hop, music, boxing and culture right up until the final bell," he said.

"Usher, Floyd Mayweather, Kevin Gates, Terence Crawford - and the list goes on. The atmosphere was electric.

"It was a special night in a packed arena and a real reflection of Claressa's star power and how far her reach has grown beyond boxing."

[overhand_right]

There's a special place in hell for the imbeciles who coin these moronic expressions like "Wants the smoke".

What was wrong with "wants to fight"? How were those words not already serving their purpose?

[MPW]

There's a special place in hell for the imbeciles who coin these moronic expressions like "Wants the smoke".

What was wrong with "wants to fight"? How were those words not already serving their purpose?

I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiment. It's an attempt - and I stress the word, attempt - to sound trendy by using popular slang, but in my mind it comes off as the brainless use of inane buzz words.

[samwbr]

Shields will beat Price pretty handily, she is levels above. KO/TKO.

[gilgamesh]

There's a special place in hell for the imbeciles who coin these moronic expressions like "Wants the smoke".

What was wrong with "wants to fight"? How were those words not already serving their purpose?

I remember a conversation years ago with a friend when he said "I didn't like her swag"

And I said "What the hell does that mean? Swag?"

And he said "It means I didn't like her style"

And I said "Well...Why didn't you just say I didn't like her style?"

[Grilling Machine]

Bloke asked me to step outside with him, but I told him I didn't want the smoke.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I mean it’s been used for decades. Kelley told Hamed he was gonna smoke his boots or something. After the fight Hamed said he did just that.

[paultom]

Shields will beat Price pretty handily, she is levels above. KO/TKO.

x2

[overhand_right]

I mean it’s been used for decades. Kelley told Hamed he was gonna smoke his boots or something. After the fight Hamed said he did just that.

Different slang term entirely.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I mean it’s been used for decades. Kelley told Hamed he was gonna smoke his boots or something. After the fight Hamed said he did just that.

Different slang term entirely.

is it?

[Kilburn]

I always liked Derrick Gainer’s “Smoke” nickname.

Anyway this is surely a bad move for Price unless she’s happy to sacrifice her unbeaten record for a bit of wonga.