Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields spoke on conflict with Jake Paul and seemed willing to drop their beef.
Since 2016, Claressa "T. Rex" Shields has dominated women's boxing. She is the first American boxer to win consecutive Olympic medals and has won multiple world championships in three separate weight classes.
12-0 in her professional boxing career, Claressa Shields is easily a revered champion. And in 2021, the superstar made a switch to mixed martial arts.
She won her MMA debut against Brittney Elkin by TKO at PFL 4 last June. However, later in the year, Shields lost via split decision against Abigail Montes, and immediately following that loss, Jake Paul had a few choice words.
“The only beef I have with Jake Paul is don’t ever disrespect me, you know what I’m sayin’? Like, he tried to kick me when I was down and also going into a new sport," Shields said in an interview with TMZ Sports. "I lost a split decision. I didn’t get submitted, I didn’t get knocked out, I didn't get beat up, it was a split. And I’m also brand new at MMA. And when he made that comment, calling me a loser and stuff, that’s what really made me want to fight him.
"And then it’s like, you can’t call me a loser because you don’t box better than me and you damn sure don’t do MMA better than me. You don’t do nothing better than me. That’s it. To kick somebody while they’re down but never give them their props when they're up, that was kinda wack to me and that’s why I didn’t have no respect for him,” Shields explains on TMZ Sports.
But their beef between them did not start there. Claressa Shields claims undefeated Jake Paul would be an easy opponent for her and requested a sparring match. She later threatened to sue Paul and his team for claiming that she had requested to be on Paul's undercard.
Claressa Shields & Jake Pau Squash Beef
On January 7, Paul took to Twitter to squash their disagreement.
"Let's put this behind us and work together to continue to build women's boxing," Paul tweeted.
Recently, Jake Paul helped promote a highly anticipated boxing match between undisputed champions Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, which Shields expressed an appreciation for and thus met Paul halfway in his olive-branch extension.
“But now, I just wish him the best," Shields said. "I wish him the best. If he ever wanna spar, it’s always up in the air. It’s always an option. Because I do owe him a couple blows," Shields said half-jokingly. "But other than that, I think what he’s doing for Amanda is great. I think him getting involved in helping the fight with Katie Taylor getting made is great for Amanda, and Katie, and it’s great for women’s boxing. So I appreciate him for that,” Shields continued.
Considering women's boxing is a high priority for both athletes, perhaps their quarrel can now be swept under the rug.
Do you think this is the end of the Claressa Shields and Jake Paul beef?