Claressa Shields stunned the boxing world earlier this month when announced her intention to participate in an MMA bout. Shields will face Brittany Elkin on June 10th as she temporarily places her boxing career on hold as she trades the ring for the octagon in a bold attempt to add to her impressive legacy.
Shields’ accomplishments in boxing are well documented with her two Olympic gold medals backed up by a host of professional titles. Her switch to the cage has long been rumoured and Natasha Jonas, a fighter who shared the Olympic spotlight with Shields at the 2012 games in London, believes the Michigan fighter can apply herself well.
“Claressa is a determined fighter, she’s a winner, and she will give this her all,” said Jonas in an exclusive interview to DAZN whilst taking a brief respite from her training camp as she prepares to tackle Katie Taylor on May 1st.
“She’ll have the best stand up game going because of her background in boxing but there will be questions asked of her when it goes to the ground. People need to remember that it’s two different sports but if Claressa can stay on her feet then she can do well.”
As well as applauding Shields for her boldness on taking on another challenge, Jonas was quick to praise the self-proclaimed “GWOAT” for her pursuit of better pay for female fighters.
“She’s made it clear many times that she wants women to have equal pay in boxing,” added Jonas. “If she feels like she has to leave boxing and go to MMA to get better pay for herself then she deserves credit for that because it might make more people take notice."