Three-division undisputed champion Claressa Shields has received some good news in her ongoing battle to disprove a positive test for marijuana.
In an email sent to Dmitriy Salita, Shields’ promoter, the WBO founding president Luis Batista Salas agreed to grant Shields a stay of proceedings, which will allow her team time to make its case with the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission and in the meantime avoid a penalty from the WBO – including the possibility of Shields being stripped of its title.
Shields won a unanimous decision over Danielle Perkins in her hometown of Flint, Michigan, on February 2, capturing the women’s heavyweight undisputed championship. But she was later suspended by the Michigan commission after her post-fight drugs test came up positive for marijuana. The WBO subsequently issued a “show cause notice” that gave Shields 30 days to clear her case.
Thursday’s WBO communication to Salita was an acknowledgment that Shields is waiting on a meeting date with the Michigan commission to seek a revocation of her suspension and an agreement on the part of the sanctioning body to pause any judgments against Shields in the interim.
“Having considered the arguments raised by Team Shields, this Committee hereby grants the request for a stay of proceedings,” wrote Salas.
The WBO’s decision comes on the heels of Monday’s public statements from Michael Mazzulli, the head of the Association of Boxing Commissions, who told BoxingScene that the Michigan commission’s actions were “overkill” and advised against stripping Shields of her belt.
“You can blame a system that’s broken within the state of Michigan,” Mazzulli told BoxingScene.
Shields, 29, is suspended from fighting only in Michigan, but she is seeking full exoneration. She maintains that she has never used marijuana, and on Thursday she appeared on the “Tamron Hall Show” to discuss her case.
“The place reeked of marijuana,” Shields said of the Dort Financial Center after her win over Perkins. “And then, before I got to do the mouth swab, everybody was hugging and kissing me in Flint. Everybody there, my cousins, sister, brother, friends – everybody was hugging and kissing me. And I know some boxers don’t stop and greet the fans, but I’m not one of them. I hugged and kissed everybody back.”
Hall essentially made Shields’ case for her, citing a study published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology that asserts inhaling second-hand marijuana smoke can lead to false positives in testing. Shields says she also submitted to a urine test that came back negative for marijuana.
“I guess I’m just guilty and I don’t get to prove my innocence,” Shields said. “I’m just already guilty.”
