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18 Apr, 2019 14:18

‘I’d give GGG a run for his money’: Undisputed women’s middleweight champ Claressa Shields

‘I’d give GGG a run for his money’: Undisputed women’s middleweight champ Claressa Shields

Fresh from becoming the undisputed women’s middleweight champion of the world, US boxing sensation Claressa Shields has said she could match male fighters – even naming Kazakh great Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin among them.

Shields unified the women’s middleweight titles by overwhelming Christina Hammer in Atlantic City over the weekend.

The US fighter, 24, beat Hammer via unanimous decision to add the German’s WBO title to her IBF, WBA and WBC straps.

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After that fight, the two-time Olympic champion proclaimed herself “the best woman in the world,” calling out Norwegian undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus as well as Savannah Marshall, the undefeated British super middleweight star who beat Shields at the 2012 world championships - her only defeat in 78 amateur bouts. 

Speaking to TMZ, Shields said she would also be happy to mix it with some big names from the world of men’s boxing, claiming she could more than hold her own.

“Absolutely,” the Flint fighter replied when asked whether there were men she could beat.

“I’m a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Undisputed champion. People say, ‘a woman can’t beat a man.’ I spar with men, I drop men, I bust men’s noses, I beat men up all the time.”

Shields even named names, including former unified welterweight world champion Keith Thurman and two-time welterweight world champ Shawn Porter.   

“If I was to say which guy I think I could beat up, I think I could beat up Keith Thurman… I could beat Shawn Porter too, skill-wise,” Shields said.   

“They may be stronger than me, but their boxing ability isn’t like mine.”

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Training her sights even higher, Shields said she would even be prepared to step between the ropes with 37-year-old Kazakh middleweight great Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin, whose professional slate stands at 38 wins from 40 fights.

“Triple G, he’s older now, but I could give Triple G a run for his money.

“You know what, power for power isn’t a question, because boxing is a sweet science. It isn’t about strength,” Shields said.  

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“People were saying Christina Hammer was stronger than me, that all these girls were stronger than me.

“But you did not see the head movement in that fight, the defense, the offense, the traps I set.

“If I was to get in there with a man, I would do a lot more of that. I do have some power. I’m not gonna say I’m stronger than them, but if I set up the right shot, with the right timing…”

Shields is certainly confident, although unlikely to see her wish of taking on men sanctioned any time soon.

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