Claressa Shields will return to the ring on Saturday night when she defends her undisputed heavyweight crown against Lani Daniels.
Shields has won all 16 of her professional fights and has branded herself the GWOAT (Greatest Woman Of All Time) after becoming a dominant force in female boxing.
But is she really the best? Irish icon Katie Taylor may have something to say about that following her victory over Amanda Serrano in their trilogy bout earlier this month.
Both Taylor and Shields have legitimate claims to the throne, so let’s see how they match up against each other across a number of categories to determine who really is the greatest.
Olympics
Taylor and Shields both competed at two Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016.
Taylor had incredible support in London, with her quarter-final against Britain’s Natasha Jonas generating record noise levels. She lived up to her billing as the favourite to claim a gold medal.
Shields was only 17 when she competed in London but was not fazed by the occasion as she stormed to glory in the middleweight division.
Four years later, both women returned to defend their titles. But it all went wrong for Taylor as she was beaten in the quarter-finals and returned home without a medal.
Shields had no such issues as she retained her title to become a two-time middleweight champion.
Overall amateur record
Taylor ruled the amateur scene long before women were given the green light to box at the Olympics in 2012.
She won five World Championship golds alongside six European Championship titles to cement herself as the standard-bearer in women’s amateur boxing.
But Shields also holds a remarkable amateur record after bursting onto the scene as a teenager.
She lost just once in the amateurs to Britain’s Savannah Marshall while picking up 77 wins, as she claimed two World Championship gold medals before turning professional.
Professional record
There is very little to split Taylor and Shields in the professional ranks. Shields is yet to taste defeat, while Taylor has lost just once in 26 bouts.
That solitary defeat came against Chantelle Cameron in May 2023. However, Taylor immediately activated her rematch clause and got her revenge to set the record straight.
Both women have become extremely tough to beat, with Taylor relying on her work rate and classy combinations, whereas Shields uses her speed to pick her opponents apart.
Dominant wins
Shields has made light work of her opponents throughout her time as a professional.
Thirteen of her 16 fights have gone the distance, but all of her decision victories have been unanimous.
The same has not been the case for Taylor. While the early stages of her career went smoothly, she was then pushed to her limit by Belgium’s Delfine Persoon on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s shock defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.
Taylor got the nod via majority decision but a number of ringside observers felt Persoon should have got her hand raised.
Since then, Taylor has had two close fights with Chantelle Cameron and three against Amanda Serrano.
She was declared the winner in four of those five contests, but on another day, some of those decisions could have gone against her.
Undisputed status
Taylor is a two-division world champion and has held undisputed status in both weight classes.
But she cannot keep up with Shields in this category. The American superstar has held titles in five weight categories, and been the undisputed champion at light-middleweight, middleweight and heavyweight.
Shields’ ability to move up and down the divisions proves she is a special talent and that her skillset has translated across against bigger and smaller opponents.
It also leaves her flexible with regards to future moves as she is capable of switching back down from heavyweight to show she is still the best in lighter weight classes.
Level of opposition
This is where Taylor certainly has the edge. The strength in depth in women’s boxing in the lower weight divisions is significantly better than the higher weight classes, which goes some way to explaining why Taylor has not had things all her own way.
Shields’ victory over Savannah Marshall in 2022 – which avenged her loss from a decade earlier – is widely seen as her best professional win.
But she has also claimed a number of victories over little-known opponents during her rise.
Meanwhile, Taylor has taken on the likes of Amanda Serrano, Chantelle Cameron, Natasha Jonas and Delfine Persoon, and still managed to come out on top on all but one occasion.
Time after time, Taylor has taken on the toughest challenges to prove her greatness. To her credit, Shields has tried to do the same, but the level of competition is not comparable.
Final verdict
Shields leads the way in most categories, highlighting how she has a strong claim to being the greatest female fighter ever.
She is also still only 30 and could have many years ahead of her to further enhance her legacy.
Meanwhile, Taylor is coming towards the end of her legendary career having turned 39 earlier this month.
She hinted at retirement after her last win over Amanda Serrano and nobody would begrudge her walking away as she has nothing left to prove.
For now, it is Shields who warrants being regarded as the GWOAT, but there is no doubting that Taylor is also an all-time great whose legacy will live on forever.
