Claressa Shields and Laila Ali have been exchanging verbal jabs early into 2020.
And the daughter of "The Greatest," Muhammad Ali, just upped the ante.
While appearing on ESPN's "First Take" on Friday, Ali said that she'd be willing to end her 13-year retirement and step back into the ring to knock out Shields ... as long as the money is right.
"It would be my absolute pleasure for the right amount of money to come back (and knock out Shields)," Ali declared live on the show.
Before laying down the gauntlet to let boxing fans know she's serious, Ali explained the genesis of even reaching this point.
"She's been calling me out," Ali said. "She's taken offense to some things that I've said in the past that have nothing to do with her. And people are asking me 'Would you come back?' Well, I have to be inspired by the opponent, I have to be inspired by the purse."
Ali proceeded to state that she's inspired by Shields — especially her "mouth" — and now it's just about the money, suggesting that her purse should be at least $1 million since a women's boxer has never made that amount in a fight.
"When it's personal, that starts a fire, and when the money's right and it makes sense, then why not?" she continued. "I'm an Ali, let's not forget that.
"There's definitely a possibility," she added, "and I'm open to that possibility if the money is right."
Ali also said that this mega clash would require a promoter who understands that "this fight could be bigger and transcend boxing."
Earlier this year, Matchroom Boxing USA president Eddie Hearn had expressed intrigue about such a fight between Ali and Shields.
It didn't take long for Shields to catch wind of Ali's comments and tweet a response Friday.
Last month, while speaking with TMZ Sports, Shields ripped Ali for being "all bark, no bite."
"Look — if a girl calls me out, I answer and I go and fight whoever it is," Shields said. "From Christina Hammer who was 24-0 — just like Laila Ali — I went out there and destroyed her. Laila may think that she's big and bad and all that stuff, but when it comes to boxing, there is no woman on this earth that can beat me.
"If she wants to fight, I'm all there for it," she continued. "We can fight at 168 (pounds). She said she's 200 pounds right now. I'll give her a year, a year to get ready, and since I'm so easy to beat, the loser gets $5 million and the winner gets $10 million. I'm going to home with $10 million, a freaking multi-millionaire. I'm not going to lose. Look — when I beat her, they're going to say that I fought an old Laila Ali. They're not going to say that I beat Laila Ali when she was at her best. But overall, the way she's talking if she's like she's going to knock me out, please ... my defense is too good for her."
That came a week after Ali bashed Shields' self-proclaimed "GWOAT" moniker.
"You want to call yourself the GWOAT (Greatest Woman of All Time), that's fine," Ali said of Shields while on SiriusXM's "Sway in the Morning." "It's flattering. You look up to my father. We both thought that was cute, that was sweet. But at the same time ... first of all, she could never beat me. Let me just get that really straight right now. We're not even in the same weight class. I know that she walked around heavier, but that would not happen. And not simply because she's not strong enough — because I would definitely knock her out — but because she's not talented enough. You're talented, you can box. You can throw those hard punches, but there's a sweet science to boxing. The reason why you have not been able to knock out the opponents that you have already faced, I can totally see it why."
The 42-year-old Ali retired with a 24-0 record, including 21 KOs, in February 2007. The 24-year-old Shields is 10-0 with 2 KOs and became just the second woman in boxing history to enjoy an undisputed title reign last year.