Claressa Shields has said that a fight with Katie Taylor would be ‘a dream.’
The 25-year-old Olympic champion has held belts across three weight classes, and Taylor has won championships in two divisions, with both fighters widely regarded as two of the greatest women boxers to ever compete.
A fight between Shields and Taylor would be considered as perhaps the biggest in the sport’s history, though it might require Shields to come down to the 147lb division.
Shields admitted that if she had to make that move then the clauses for the fight would be important to make any fight.
“I think that the dream fight overall is for me and Katie Taylor,” she told Boxing with Chris Mannix ahead of her fight with Marie-Eve Dicaire.
“But for me going down to 147, it is kind of a push for me. The numbers have to make sense and everything else has to make sense: the rehydration clause.”
Shields wants to make sure she does not miss out on fights afforded to other competitors, saying: “She’s already beaten Jessica [McCaskill] and I don’t think Cecilia [Braekhus] is going to give her any kind of problems.
“I think it would be the best fight, if she were interested.
“If she’s going to come to 147 and fight those girls, don’t exclude me, because the same rules that applied to the other girls should apply to me.”
Given the pair’s success so far Shields explained she is fascinated by how the two would match up in the ring, saying she had tried to spar with her in 2016.
“I’d be honoured to share the ring with her,” she explained.
“What would I have to do to beat them? What would it be like in a fight with us? I wonder what it would be like if I was smaller, or if she was bigger, and she possesses some skill.
“I wanted to spar with her and her team said no and coach Billy [Walsh] said no.
“She’s accomplished more than any boxer in amateur history.
“Even though she’s smaller, I wonder who punches faster?"