Claressa Shields is continuing to egg on Laila Ali until she finally picks a date and time to square up. Rick Ross is even ready to see these ladies in the ring, as he reposted an article about Ali updating fans on the proposition and asked Shields to “make it happen.”

The 30-year-old fired back, “[She’s] scared, Boss!!!”

Meanwhile, this fight is the furthest thing from Ali’s mind. During a recent interview with Good Day D.C., the retired fighter clarified her comments about wanting to fight Shields.

“I was asked an impromptu question by one of the boxing blogs like ‘Would you come back?’ And I said for $15-20 million, I’d have to think about it. Not that I want to. I’m not over here thinking about it. You see I’m hosting shows. I got my Laila Ali lifestyle brand, my spice blends. You know, my family. All these things going on and all of a sudden, I start getting all these offers,” she explained.

Claressa Shields defends her title in front of a record crowd in Detroit – a historic evening for women’s boxing and her home city.

Claressa Shields remains the measure of all things in women’s boxing. The 30-year-old defended her undisputed heavyweight status against Lani Daniels from New Zealand at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on July 26 – in front of the largest crowd in the city’s boxing history. 15,600 fans celebrated Shields’ clear points victory and made the evening a milestone for the sport. Particularly noteworthy: more than 70 percent of the tickets were bought by women – a strong signal for the growing popularity of women’s boxing. Promoter Dmitriy Salita spoke after the fight of “proof of the new age in boxing”.

Shields, the first female boxer from the USA to win two Olympic gold medals, has achieved several historic achievements in her professional career: two undisputed world titles in various weight classes and now the establishment of Detroit as a center for women’s boxing. The march-in with rap star Rick Ross underlined the connection between sport and pop culture.

In addition to the Undisputed champion, talents such as Samantha Worthington and Caroline Veyre, who compete under Shields’ T-Rex Promotions, also shone. The crowning glory: Shields was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame directly after the fight.

Undisputed heavyweight champion Claressa Shields, arguably the best female fighter on the planet, is a free agent in boxing.

The 30-year-old has spent her professional career signed with Dmitriy Salita’s Salita Promotions but announced after her latest win on Saturday that the deal had finished.

As a three-weight undisputed champion, unbeaten and one of the best talkers in the sport, Shields will be a massively attractive prospect for any promoter.

Her recent fight against Lani Daniels drew 15,000 fans at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. A massive 71% of the tickets were purchased by women.

Shields, alongside bitter rival Savannah Marshall, also sold more than 15,000 tickets at London’s O2 Arena in 2022, with a peak TV audience of two million.

There has always been a feeling Shields is not as big as her accolades demand, so would a new promotional partner change that? BBC Sport takes a look at the options for the American star.

American superstar Claressa Shields (17-0, 3 KOs) once again cemented her status as the queen of women’s boxing with a commanding unanimous decision victory over New Zealand’s Lani Daniels (11-3-2, 1 KO) on Saturday, July 26, at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. Fighting in front of more than 15,000 fans, Shields retained her WBA world heavyweight title and reinforced her place in history as the only undisputed champion in three separate weight classes—middleweight, super middleweight, and heavyweight.

From the opening bell, Shields showcased her trademark ring IQ and technical superiority. Daniels tried to stay mobile early, circling and keeping distance, but the champion quickly cut off the ring and began walking her down, landing crisp combinations to both the body and head.

The scorecards told the story of Shields’ dominance: 100-90, 99-91, and 99-91. It was another masterclass from the self-proclaimed GWOAT (Greatest Woman of All Time), who continues to raise the bar in women’s boxing.

“I’m ready for anyone. I want the biggest and best fights out there,” Shields said post-fight, hinting at potential blockbuster bouts on the horizon—including a long-rumored rematch with Franchón Crews-Dezurn.

Daniels came into the fight riding a seven-fight win streak and was competing outside of her native New Zealand for the first time. Despite her courage and resilience, she couldn’t match Shields’ speed, timing, or relentless pressure. As the rounds wore on, Shields landed with increasing accuracy and closed strong in the tenth to seal the win in style.

Now 30, Shields continues to build a legacy that transcends the sport. With two Olympic gold medals, titles across five weight classes, and a perfect pro record, her influence reaches far beyond the ropes. The Little Caesars Arena bore witness to yet another historic night in the career of one of boxing’s all-time greats.

Claressa Shields is still undefeated after routing Lani Daniels.

Claressa Shields is still undefeated, still an undisputed champion, and once again goes back to the drawing board to try finding a challenge.

Shields routed Lani Daniels, a predictable outcome that saw the champion improve to 17-0 (3 KO) on scores of 99-91, 99-91, and 100-90.

Daniels (11-3-2, 1 KO) had nothing with which to actually challenge the American star, but that makes the 37-year-old New Zealander no worse in the end than almost all of Shields’ opponents have been, owing to the simple and obvious reality that Shields is simply operating on her own level, and having cleared out every division from 154 to heavyweight, there just isn’t much left for her to prove at the age of 30.

Shields’ dominance, though, has turned her into a legitimate star and live draw in Detroit and Flint, and while that’s not Las Vegas and New York, it’s not nothing. We’re at a point now where the chatter is about Shields trying to drop 20 lbs again and move back to 154, a weight she made twice in 2020 and 2021, in order to potentially fight someone like Mikaela Mayer, a natural lightweight who now campaigns at 147.

Undercard notes

Former super welterweight titleholder Tony Harrison returned from over a two-year layoff with a win over Edward Diaz on scores of 96-93, 97-92, and 98-91. It wasn’t a perfect outing for the 34-year-old Harrison (30-4-1, 21 KO), who got dropped in the ninth round, but there were some rounds where he looked sharp. He was definitely rusty — or, at least, he better hope that’s what it was if he intends to get back into contention, now at 160.

28-year-old heavyweight prospect Pryce Taylor improved to 9-0 (6 KO) with a decision win over Robert Simms, a fan favorite, 41-year-old Michigan native. Scores were 80-72 across the board, and should have been, but Taylor left a lot of questions with this performance.

Samantha Worthington claimed the interim WBA super lightweight title with a majority decision win over Victoire Piteau on scores of 95-95, 96-94, and 99-91. The 99-91 score is pretty hard to defend, to say the least. Worthington (12-0, 7 KO) believes she’s ready to face Katie Taylor, and realistically she may be as ready as she’s going to get, because she’s had struggles in both of her wins this year at a level way below Katie Taylor.

Caroline Veyre won a WBC featherweight eliminator over Licia Bourdesa on scores of 98-92, 99-91, and 99-91, which were all fair. The former Olympian Veyre (10-1, 0 KO) is now in position for a shot at the belt held by Tiara Brown.

Claressa Shields vs Lani Daniels: Champ reveals Rick Ross hotel hunt after ringwalk with rapper

Shields wants to ‘whoop’ Muhammad Ali’s daughter, Laila

Claressa Shields says rapper Rick Ross had to take a “bad hotel” before starring in the undisputed heavyweight champion’s ringwalk for her points win over Lani Daniels at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.

Flint fighter Shields attracted one of the largest crowds of her career as a headliner to the arena, selling more than 15,000 tickets and leaving Ross, who has a reported net worth of around $150 million, struggling for accommodation options.

“Somebody was like ‘all right, man – we’re going to get you a good hotel,’ explained Shields. “But he was like ‘we’re at the rehearsals – champ, there ain’t no more hotels, man.’

“I said ‘yeah – because I sold this out.’ You all had Rick Ross at a bad hotel because all of the hotels were sold out.”

Claressa Shields vs Lani Daniels

IBF light-heavyweight champion Daniels suffered the first loss of her 11-fight career with a 100-90, 99-91, 99-91 defeat on the scorecards.

“She fought a hard fight,” Shields said of the Maori. I hit her with some big shots – I broke her to the body, I broke her down to the head. I mixed it up on her.

Women’s Euros Betting Offers – Best Final Free Bets For England vs Spain

“Loni is very, very tough and I knew she would be tough. Her head was moving a lot and she headbutted me twice, and that was something I had to be on the lookout for.

“I knew she just wanted to survive the rounds but she tried to come on, maybe around rounds eight, nine. I still feel like I won every round and even beat her with my back against the ropes.”

Shields vs Daniels: Champ ‘grateful’

Shields suggested Daniels was “scared” and “terrified” as she danced around the ring early in the fight. “She knew how strong and how much bigger than her I was,” the 30-year-old added.

“After the first two rounds, I cut off the ring and hit her with a couple of body shots, and then she slowed down.

“She had big hands. She may have been kind of afraid early on but she but her big girl panties on and fought me a little bit, and we were able to put on a great show in front of 15,000.

“I have been praying for a sold-out RCA since I first fought here and I didn’t think it was possible with just people from Flint and Detroit, and I was right about that.

“We had to bring Brooklyn, New York, Texas, Ohio, the UK. We had to bring New Zealand, Atlanta, Miami, Florida. They were here from everywhere: Texas, Cali, that’s what it was going to take to fill this place up.

“So everybody who’s from Flint and Michigan, I thank you for always showing up and being consistent, because I knew at least 11,000 from Flint and Detroit would be here.

“But the last 5,000 who came were from all over the world, and I’m so grateful for that.”

Will Shields fight Muhammad Ali’s daughter Leila?

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s daughter, Laila Ali, has been linked to a $15 million fight against Shields, while the late sporting great’s ex-wife, Khalilah Ali, has spent time with Shields in camp and was at her fight against Daniels.

Khalilah Ali, who is not Laila Ali’s mother, is backing Shields to win a potential fight with the 47-year-old former world champion, who has not fought competitively since 2007.

“I always thank her for being here,” said Shields, who now has a perfect 17-fight record, discussing Khalilah Ali. “I am trying to whoop Leila Ali’s ass.”