Claressa Shields is one of the best in the professional boxing world. The female boxer is only 29 years old, yet has already left an indescribable mark on the sport. Shields won her last match against Danielle Perkins, becoming the first ever undisputed women’s heavyweight champion. The boxer recently had a movie release, showcasing her origin story. The movie, titled “The Fire Inside” starred Ryan Destiny and covered everything from her humble beginnings through her rise to basketball fame.

Here’s everything you should know about the professional boxer’s life outside the sport.

Is Claressa Shields in a Relationship?

Shields’s personal life is subject to intense scrutiny and curiosity. She recently opened up about her relationship with rapper Papoose.

The boxer and rapper’s connection became public in late 2024 amid Papoose’s separation from his estranged wife, Remy Ma. Despite the public scrutiny, Shields has expressed profound appreciation for Papoose’s unique support and understanding. She described their bond as transformative, highlighting how his encouragement differs from her past experiences. Shields emphasized that Papoose is not only her partner but also her best friend, with whom she shares deep conversations and mutual respect. Initially, she preferred to keep their relationship private to avoid external judgment, aiming to cherish their moments away from public scrutiny. However, following Remy Ma’s public disclosure of their relationship, Shields and Papoose have chosen to embrace their partnership openly. Papoose has been visibly supportive, accompanying Shields during significant events, including her historic title fight in Flint, Michigan, where she became the first boxer—male or female—to achieve undisputed status in three different weight divisions. Their relationship, though emerging from complex circumstances, appears to be a source of mutual support and affection, with both expressing happiness in their union.

Papoose and Remy Ma’s previous dates back to 2004. The two married in 2016 before welcoming two children, a daughter Reminisce Mackenzie and a son Jayson Scott. The influential hip hop couple announced their split in 2024, both Remy Ma and Papoose posting screenshots on their official Instagram accounts.

Does Claressa Shields Have Children?

As of February 2025, Claressa Shields does not have biological children. In 2014, she attempted to adopt her cousin’s newborn daughter, Klaressa, and cared for her for eight months. However, Essentially Sports reports that due to legal challenges, she lost custody. This experience has influenced her views on motherhood, leading her to focus on inspiring young girls through her athletic achievements. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Shields expressed, “I don’t want to have kids. I want to inspire young girls and give them hope.”

Early Life and Career

Born on March 17, 1995, in Flint, Michigan, Shields started boxing at 11. Her father, Clarence “Bo Bo” Shields, introduced her to the sport and was actually a former amateur fighter. Shields says that growing up in Flint wasn’t easy. In her adolescence, she tackled poverty, death and abuse. Boxing served as a creative outlet for her.

“You put in the hard work, you win. You slack off, you lose. So when I say boxing is the only thing that loved me back, I put in so much heart into boxing, and guess what I did? I won,” she said on the sports podcast “The Art of Ward.” “I keep winning because it loves me how I love it.”

By the time she was 17 years old, Shields was the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. She trained for those 2012 Olympic Games under the leadership of Jason Crutchfield, who became a father figure in her life.

Claressa Shields’s Track Record

Since then, Shields has increasingly excelled in her professional boxing career. During the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, she won a gold medal. In 2019, Shields defeated Christina Hammer and made history, as the only boxer, male or female, to unify all four major boxing titles (the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO) in a single weight class. As of today, her record stands at a 16-0.

What Is Claressa Shields’s Net Worth?

Although Shields solidified her status as one of the best female boxers in the history of the sport, the boxers’ estimated net worth is around $1 million. Throughout her career, she has used her success to shine a light on the pay disparity in women’s sports, especially in boxing. After her 2025 historic boxing match, she spoke about wanting more profitable endorsements.

“I think I want to keep fighting and let it set in at the very end because I haven’t gotten all my endorsements and all my sponsorships yet,” she told Fight Sports. “I have some, but it’s like I’m waiting to get that $20 million from Adidas or $30 million from Under Armour and Nike. I’m looking to get there, you know? I want to represent all these companies, so I have some work to do.”

Claressa Shields, the heavyweight championship boxer, will defend her title July 26 in her hometown of Detroit.

According to BoxingScene, the undefeated boxer who deems herself “the G.W.O.A.T. (Greatest Woman Boxer of All Time)” will battle IBF light heavyweight titleholder Lani Daniels at Little Caesars Arena.

Undisputed heavyweight champion and consensus pound-for-pound queen Claressa Shields is staying active – and wants to add to her already-unparalleled resume.

Shields is scheduled to defend her heavyweight championship against IBF light heavyweight titleholder Lani Daniels on July 26 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The bout will stream on DAZN. 

Shields, 16-0 (3 KOs), has a long list of achievements. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She is a three-division undisputed champion. Rarely has she even been challenged – except, perhaps, by activity. She boxed only once per year in 2023 and 2024. 

Claressa Shields planted her flag.

On a stage tucked inside the Google entrance of Little Caesars Arena, in front of dozens of children from DGB, a local boxing gym and after-school program, Shields staked her claim.

“I’m not looking for the ref to stop the fight against Lani,” Shields said in a press conference. “I’m gonna make Lani quit. I’m gonna make her throw in the towel.”

The press conference was to promote Shields’ upcoming fight against Lani Daniels, a New Zealand boxer and reigning IBF light heavyweight champion. The fight, which will be hosted by 313 Entertainment at Little Caesars on Saturday, July 26, is Shields’ third time in three years fighting in the arena in her home state. She defeated Maricela Cornejo as the headliner in 2023, and won both the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles in her second round knockout of WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse last summer in the building.

On Monday, June 16, Shields was bothered by a comment made by Daniels’ coach, John Conway. Conway stated that the team’s strategy to defeat Shields would be through unconventional fighting tactics, using his background in Muay Thai to teach Daniels unconventional punches and strategies.

“We’re not going to box you,” Conway said, addressing Shields. “We’re going to fight you in a Muay Thai style. This how we’re going to win, and we’ll take home the belts and the American dream.”

The comment irked Shields, who responded in a way only Claressa Shields can.

“Lani, if you come in there and you let your coach convince you to do that, you’re gonna be out quicker than what I thought,” Shields said with her trademark confidence and grin. “I would give you ‘til Round 6. You come out there and try to stand there in front of me and brawl with me, I promise you – you said stretcher today? You will be going out on one.

“It’s best to use your skills and tighten up that defense and keep them hands up, ’cause all these other girls you fought against, they may have been a little bigger, but they were not as skilled as me and they wasn’t as sharp, they wasn’t as fast.”

It would sound like overconfidence if it wasn’t coming from Shields, who many consider the greatest female boxer of all time. Shields’ resume is only 16 fights, but in those fights, she’s amassed a collection of belts greater than most boxers earn over a whole career. Shields is the only boxer ever to become undisputed champion in three weight divisions, having won undisputed titles in light middleweight, middleweight and heavyweight. She has two gold medals. She’s only been defeated once in the boxing ring when she lost to Savannah Marshall as an amateur, and she later defeated Marshall as a pro.

Shields is a confident boxer because she’s won again and again and very few have been able to challenge her. She recently defeated perhaps the most feared women’s heavyweight boxer, Danielle Perkins, who stands nearly four inches taller than Shields’ 5-foot-8 frame.

Shields is still a relative newcomer to the heavyweight class, but she’s proven herself against the best. There are few indications that Daniels will be able to beat her, either. Daniels seemed to know that when the two were asked how far they thought the fight would go.

“I was giving Lani Round 7, and I’m gonna knock her out, you know, up to Round 7,” Shields said, explaining her thoughts before the conference. “But from what her coach got there and said today, that done piss me clean off, saying that she gonna stand there and fight me and she gonna brawl at me. It may be another second or third round knockout, man, I’m not even gonna lie to you. Second or third.”

Daniels’ response was less enthusiastic.

“If we’re talking numbers, I think I stop her in Round 9,” Daniels said.

“You ain’t stopped nobody,” Shields said.

When asked how she could defeat Shields in Round 9, Daniels gave a less-than-inspiring answer.

“I have to make it there,” Daniels said.

Shields just laughed.

Shields vs. Daniels is on Saturday, July 26 at 6 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena. Tickets start at $50 on Ticketmaster. The match will be streamed on DAZN.