Sebastian Fundora is putting all his effort into securing a fight with fellow title holder Terence Crawford, despite reports he was in talks to face Errol Spence Jr, the unified super-welterweight champion’s promoter said.
When Crawford (41-0-0 31 KO) became a four-weight world champion by beating WBA title holder Israil Madrimov in August, he also claimed the WBO’s interim belt, placing him in a mandatory position to challenge full champion Fundora (21-1-1 13 KO).
Later that month, the WBO ordered the fight between Fundora and Crawford, giving their respective teams 30 days’ notice to agree a deal before it was sent to purse bids. With Fundora also holding the WBC title, there is plenty of logic as to why Crawford would be interested in the bout; a win would put him one win and one belt away from becoming the first male fighter in history to become undisputed in three divisions.
However, the Nebraskan’s priority is reportedly on securing a bout with unified super-middleweight king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – a fight that makes little sense beyond the enormous payday the pound-for-pound star would earn.
Despite the situation, Sampson Lewkowicz, who promotes Fundora, insists their priority is still on securing a bout with Crawford, even if it takes place after any potential bout with Canelo.
“It looks like Crawford only wants to fight Canelo,” Lewkowicz told BoxingScene. “If Canelo gets $100 million for the Crawford fight, he will take it and knock the shit out of Crawford. He’s not stupid. It’s an easy fight, and that’s it. It’s the end of Crawford’s career.
“If Canelo doesn’t take the Crawford fight, we’re ready to fight Crawford. All of our efforts are on Crawford. We have nothing else in mind. We want to fight Crawford. Sebastian believes that he will beat Crawford, and when he does, he will become a superstar. Sebastian has the balls and is a dangerous fight for anybody.”
Fundora became the 154-pound division’s unified champion in March when he defeated WBO title holder Tim Tszyu by split decision in a bout that also had the vacant WBC strap on the line. The 26-year-old Californian benefitted from an accidental elbow early in the fight that opened up a nasty cut on Tszyu’s forehead, and while the Australian fought on valiantly, he was severely debilitated.
Fundora had been expected to make his first title defense against former unified welterweight champion Spence, with their bout initially aimed for October. However, the fight was pushed, with Fundora saying in July that it was still on but “they just changing the date”. Since then, though, there have been no updates or announcements, suggesting that it’s no longer going ahead while Fundora waits on Crawford.
Spence has not fought since getting dominated by Crawford in their 147-pound undisputed title fight in July last year when he was stopped after seven rounds of one-way punishment.
Meanwhile, the other super-welterweight world title will be fought over on October 19 when IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev makes his first defense against Tszyu in Orlando.
Golf sensation Scottie Scheffler has reached out with words of encouragement to Rory McIlroy following another disappointing finish for the Northern Irish golfer.
McIlroy’s quest for victory was thwarted yet again at the BMW PGA Championship where he was pipped to the post in a play-off.
Despite a valiant effort at Wentworth, McIlroy was bested by Billy Horschel’s stunning eagle putt last Sunday. The four-time major champion has been plagued by a series of narrow defeats, including a gut-wrenching setback at the US Open in June and another dropped lead at the Irish Open earlier this month.
The 35-year-old has openly acknowledged the challenge that these setbacks have posed after repeatedly falling at the final hurdle. Nonetheless, world number one Scheffler insists that McIlroy wasn’t defeated at Wentworth; it was simply Horschel’s moment of brilliance that proved the difference.
Speaking at a Presidents Cup press conference, Scheffler reflected on his own experiences: “I think I played a lot of solid tournaments, and it was nice to get some wins. I’ve had years in the past on tour where I’ve played pretty nice and I haven’t been able to win a bunch. Sometimes in this game the breaks go your way and sometimes they don’t.
“You know like Rory’s had some close calls. He has a playoff last week, and a guy eagles the final hole to beat him, and that’s kind of a tough deal.”
“He didn’t lose, he got beat. So that can happen,” Scheffler added. “Sometimes the breaks fall your way, like Tom Kim and I in the playoff at Travelers. He did birdie 18 to get in the playoff, but then he made a bogey on the playoff hole. Just little things like that sometimes can help.”
Scheffler’s remarks follow McIlroy’s reflections on his recent performances, where he expressed frustration despite his good form. “Look, it’s golf and I’m playing well. These things happen,” McIlroy admitted. “Two weeks in a row I’ve played well. Just not quite well enough. The game is testing me a little more than it has done in the past, but that’s fine.”
McIlroy is taking a breather following his Wentworth setback but looks forward to lifting his spirits by joining forces with his father Gerry at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship pro-am event in October. On the other hand, fresh from seven PGA Tour wins and an Olympic gold medal, Scheffler is eyeing victory at the Presidents Cup and suggested how better times could soon be ahead for McIlroy.
“Sometimes it’s an important putt or a little break here or there, and a lot of times this year I felt like I made the putts when I really needed to,” Scheffler recalled. “I made that 5-footer on 18 in Paris, made a bunch of putts on that back nine.”
“I made a putt to win the Memorial on the last hole. And back nine at the Masters, final round at The Players, I made a lot of putts that were not necessarily on 18 green, but a lot of putts that were important to keep momentum in the round going.”
“In years past, maybe sometimes those putts went in sometimes, but this year I felt like for the most part I made a lot of those putts when I needed to.”
Jannik Sinner’s first win since his US Open triumph clearly meant more to him than most.
Sinner was forced to work hard as he beat Nicolas Jarry 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of the China Open.
As he won the last point of the match, he pointed to the sky and appeared to get emotional, as this was a first win since his beloved auntie Meggi Rauchegger passed away.
Sinner mentioned his auntie in his US Open winners’ speech in New York earlier this month and he was eager to devote his second Grand Slam win to her memory.
“I would like to dedicate this title to my aunt because she is really not feeling well health-wise. I don’t know how much longer I still have her in my life,” said Sinner in New York.
“It’s so nice that I can share positive moments still with her. She was a very important person for my life and she still is.
“If there would be a biggest wish, I would wish everyone the best health, but unfortunately, it’s not possible.”
Sinner kept his emotions in check to see off the dangerous Jarry and he made some interesting comments about a key area of his game after the match was won.
We have not seen Sinner on a tennis court since his US Open win, but it is clear that he has been working hard on one big area of his game with coach Darren Cahill.
“The second serve I still have to improve a little bit,” he confirmed. From after US Open we worked very hard (on the serve).
“I’m happy about my process, obviously there is still a lot of room to improve.”
On the match against Jarry he added: “He played some very good tennis, the first set, he was serving very well, I was struggling to return his serve.
“I just tried to stay there mentally, first round is always tough, playing against him is very tough. Happy about the performance and how I ended the match.”
Sinner has confirmed he will only play for more events in 2024, as he looks to take some time away from the court in a move that will mean he won’t defend his Austrian Open title in Vienna.
Speaking ahead of the China Open in Beijing, where he is the defending champion, Sinner offered his thoughts on the debate around scheduling in tennis.
Carlos Alcaraz has suggested the amount of mandatory tournaments players are required to play needs to be trimmed and Alexander Zverev offered up similar sentiments.
Yet Sinner admitted players can take time off from events if they choose to do so.
“The schedule is quite long these years. But as players, we can still choose what to play and what not to play,” said Sinner.
The former heavyweight world champion has made a shocking admission just months before his fight with Jake Paul which could result in a potential ban
Mike Tyson faces a potential ban from boxing if he fails a drug test after admitting he could smoke cannabis in the days leading up to his showdown with Jake Paul later this year.
The pair were set to go head-to-head earlier this summer, but ‘Iron Mike’ was forced to postpone his return to the ring after suffering from an inflamed ulcer. Tyson was forced to stop training on his doctor’s orders but has recently returned to the gym and insists he will be ready to walk to the ring later this year.
The clash between the two big stars is set to take place on Friday, November 15 in Arlington, Texas at the AT&T Stadium in front of up to 90,000 fans. Tyson’s last professional outing came in 2005 when he lost to Kevin McBride. His last bout took place in an exhibition against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr behind closed doors in 2020. As for Paul, the 27-year-old defeated former UFC fighter Mike Perry back in July in his last outing.
Tyson recently admitted he was struggling to walk after completing six rounds of sparring – further adding concern for his health ahead of the bout. The American recently admitted to being a ‘junkie’ and has previously confessed to smoking weed every day as well as micro-dosing magic mushrooms to help him recover between sessions before his last fight with Jones Jr. Tyson sensationally claimed that he was even high during the fight itself.
In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, when Tyson was asked if he intends to be high during his bout with Paul, he replied: “I’m going to be so high off life, yeah.” Kimmel then asked: “Will you be high on marijuana, as well?” Tyson replied: “That’s a possibility, too.” The host then commented: “Oh no my bet is getting lower as we talk.”
While his interview was a cause for concern, it remains unclear how serious his statement was. That said, if Tyson does intend to smoke weed before his fight with ‘The Problem Child,’ then he could be banned by the Texas Commission as the drug is on the sanctioning body’s list of prohibited substances.
According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR): “If either combatant were to test positive for a banned substance, we would open a complaint, put them on a 90-day suspension and if the combatant were the winner, the decision would be changed to a no-decision because of a rules violation.”
Regardless of what he may or may not be taking, it’d appear that Tyson is clearly not taking the fight seriously after a staggering admission. During his chat with Kimmel, ‘Iron Mike’ claimed he was training six hours a day. “I am training extremely hard, I do six hours a day. I start at 11am and might leave the gym at 5pm,” he said. Kimmel looked stunned and replied: “Oh no. 11am? So that’s six hours straight, or is there a lunch break?” The former heavyweight champion admitted there was a small break as a shocked Kimmel gasped: “Oh no.”
It seems Gervonta Davis had been reflecting on it for some time. Only the random Twitter post probably gave Gervonta Davis the opportunity to get it off his chest.
Following the Ryan Garcia win, the lightweight king returned from a year-long break to defend his title against Frank Martin. Notwithstanding the threat’ The Ghost’ posed, the Baltimorean registered yet another win in a typical trademark style. Talk about his next outing has occupied the general discourse ever since.
Excitement peaked when reports of a title unification fight with Vasyl Lomachenko surfaced. But it all came to naught as the Ukrainian champion decided to take a break until next year. Then rumors of a potential clash with Shakur Stevenson also emerged. Since then there have been several hints and suggestions about ‘Tank’ Davis’ second fight, possibly by December. So while he awaits, the sequence from the June 15 fight, where Martin shook him momentarily, had Davis ponder what might have gone wrong. Better still, what he would have done had he been in Martin’s shoes.
“No, I knew I f**ked up and did something I shouldn’t,” admitted Gervonta Davis. Further elaborating, he said that if he had been fighting in Frank Martin’s position, he would have exploited the moment to its fullest advantage and, who knows, secured an upset win!
The lightweight champion was actually responding to a tweet from a boxing channel. The post featured a sequence from the dying seconds of the seventh round. The message was simple: “Did Frank Martin hurt Tank Davis?🤔”
As in previous fights, ‘Tank’ Davis started slowly during the first title defense as a full champion. After giving away a few early rounds, he started picking up by the sixth. The action heated up in the seventh round.
With some one-and-a-half minutes left in the round, Gervonta Davis cornered Martin and threw a left uppercut, followed by a right hook to the body. Martin deftly stepped back and kept his right hand down to block the hook. But he missed the incoming left overhand.
However, ‘The Ghost’ continued. With some 25-odd seconds left in the round, he moved away from the ropes. It appears as if he was waiting for Gervonta Davis to attack. The 30-0 star seemingly took the bait and threw a probing jab followed by a straight left to face. But before his left could connect, a counter right from Martin landed perfectly on his face.
It was clear that the shot had hurt the champion. “Oh, counter left Martin that jolted Davis,” said one of the commentators. Another added, “That’s the counter he’s been looking for.” Thankfully for Davis, the setback proved fleeting; he promptly resumed his attack that finally culminated in sending Frank Martin down in the eighth round.
Post-fight, as he revisited the fight with commentator Jim Gray, the swelling under Davis’ right eye appeared quite prominent. He admitted that entering the ring after a long break he felt a bit ‘crusty’ and ‘rusty’.
Perhaps what Gervonta Davis observed may be valid, given his ring instincts. It would be unusual for him not to follow up on the straight right that landed cleanly. Who knows, had Frank Martin kept up the pressure, maybe the lightweight division would have welcomed a new champion to its roster.
Boxing fans won’t have to wait long to see the rematch between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois as ‘AJ’ looks to avenge his crushing defeat to the IBF champion
The heavyweight rematch between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois seems increasingly likely and could take place in February.
Dubois was a huge underdog coming into the first contest at Wembley Stadium, but came out guns blazing, with Joshua unable to deal with the champion’s power and speed. Just moments into the opening round, Dubois had sent Joshua tumbling, and it would only get worse for ‘AJ.’ The Brit went on to drop Joshua three times before securing a sensational knockout in the fifth round to retain his IBF title.
The next big fight in the heavyweight division is Oleksandr Usyk’s clash against Tyson Fury in December. It looked likely that Dubois would wait for the winner, however, it would appear a rematch with Joshua seems more realistic. Frank Warren, Dubois promoter, has revealed that ‘Dynamite’s’ next fight will take place early next year and is very much open to the rematch between the two heavyweight giants with February 22 pencilled in for a fight card in Riyadh.
When quizzed about a rematch between the pair, Warren told TNT Sports: “I’m not against that at all. That’s not an open door for me, I’ll take the door off the hinges and we’ll do it. That fight is there. If they want it, they’ve got it, have it in a heartbeat. His next fight will be in February. That’s when he’ll fight next, and we will work out who that’s going to be in the next week or two weeks.”
Warren isn’t the only one who is chomping at the bit to see a second fight. Fellow promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh intends to see Joshua take on Dubois again. “Rematch clauses come in many different forms,” Hearn told talkSPORT. “We have a fight with Riyadh Season. One of our options is to fight Daniel Dubois again, and our contract is with them. His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] will deal with Frank and Daniel and make that fight happen. The terms will have to be agreed with them.
“We have already agreed our terms, we have the option to rematch with Dubois. Our meetings with His Excellency, he wants the rematch. AJ will always want the rematch. Daniel wants the rematch too it’s the biggest fight for him and they will fancy it. It is a case of going away and talking about, do we go straight into the rematch? And when will it be? It was a heavy night at the office, we aren’t going back to fight in 10-12 weeks, he needs his rest and time to recover.”
Joshua and Hearn confirmed immediately after the main event on Saturday that the intention was to pursue a sequel. Many senior figures in the sport of boxing have suggested ‘AJ’ should consider retiring. However, the Brit is confident that he still has a lot more to give and that he can become a three-time heavyweight champion.
As for Dubois, in a recent interview with talkSPORT, the Brit revealed he will accept the fight that offers him the most money next. “I would love a rematch but either one really, whoever pays me more money,” he said. ‘Dynamite’ added that if the rematch with Joshua wasn’t imminent, he’d certainly consider the bout in the future. “Yeah, if that happens down the line then yes. I want to do even better next time. I know where I need to improve as well, so as a champion and a fighter I want to prove people wrong every time and that’s what we have been doing.”
When asked if he’d do a better job on Joshua, Dubois said: “I think so. I think I would. I think I’d be a lot better than that. It was a great show and it was a great Rocky-type fight, but next time I believe I’ll be more clinical, more sharp, everything better.”
Tiger Woods dominated the greens during his prime and has 82 PGA Tour and 15 majors to his name.
When talking about his son, Charlie Woods it’s only natural for one to think of him as a celebrity child. However, Toby Harbeck, Woods Jr’s high school golf coach doesn’t see him as one but considers him a normal student instead.
It happened in March this year when the Benjamin school’s golf head coach Toby Harbeck talked about the State Championship. Tiger Woods attended the tournament as an audience. As it happened, Harbeck said “You know, we don’t call him Tiger. We call him Dad because he’s Dad,” saying that they don’t treat the 15-year-old as a celebrity golfer’s child but a normal student instead.
“And Charlie’s not Tiger Woods’ son, but he’s Charlie, and that’s the way they want it to be,” the head coach further added. Harbeck also talked about Woods and how he attends Charlie Woods’s golf matches saying “Tiger’s been there a lot — it’s great to have him watching. We were playing a match at home, 18 holes, and we finished shooting a course-record 15-under. Tiger’s sitting next to me and he goes, ‘What did we shoot, coach?’,” as revealed on the Palm Beach Post website.
After knowing the score the 15x major champion was happy and excitedly said, “Are you kidding me?” and later went to shake all of the players’ hands for their performances. During his time on the greens, Charlie Woods’s status causes him trouble sometimes.
However, it was worse in February when Woods Jr. was playing a PGA Tour qualifying event. The 15-year-old shot 16-over par 86. Following that fans harassed him as they walked alongside him on the fairways ignoring his personal space. When asked to give some space one fan yelled “Who are you? The fire marshal?”
Tiger Woods also appreciates the head coach as well. Initially, the golfer hugged the two teenage golfers who shot a 66 at the State Championship back in November last year. Following that when the team won the State Championship the golfer walked behind Harbeck and bear-hugged him offering this gesture as a thanks. As Woods Jr. faced difficulties on the PGA Tour qualifiers are things different for him on the high school greens?
Last year Golf.com interviewed Toby Harbeck and asked him how things are for Charlie Woods in high school. Harbeck who is also an English teacher was aware of everything. He shared a story from a random tournament from the 8th hole, a straight-away par-5 lined by condos down the right side in high school golf. “And I’m watching all these doors to the condos opening up and all these people come out because they knew he was there,” he said.
However, weather had disrupted the play and while all the players and coaches were seeking shelter Woods Jr. was still out on the greens signing autographs. Harbeck also talked about another tournament where the photographers tried to click photos without anyone noticing. While talking about it he said “Trust me, there are people in trees taking pictures. Microphones in his face.” As per some latest updates Woods Jr. isn’t part of the Golf Varsity Boys and Golf JV Boys teams.
Carlos Alcaraz expressed his hope that the Davis Cup Finals are not Rafael Nadal’s “last dance” after the 22-time Grand Slam winner was selected as part of the Spanish team.
Nadal joins Alcaraz in making up part of captain David Ferrer’s team for the Finals, which will take place in Malaga this November.
Spain last won the men’s team event in 2019 where they were anchored by Nadal, who had won the French and US Open titles earlier that season.
However, rumours are swirling that this year’s event could be the final tournament of the 38-year-old’s career, after repeated physical issues over the past two seasons.
Nadal has not played since the Olympic Games in Paris, where he fell in the second round of the men’s singles to Novak Djokovic, and reached the doubles quarter-final alongside Alcaraz.
The former world No 1 was set to play the Laver Cup this past weekend but pulled out – with Alcaraz proving to be the main star of the event.
Speaking just under two months ahead of the Finals, Alcaraz revealed that he does not “want to think” about the possibility of Nadal retiring at the tournament.
“It’s always great having Rafa around,” said the world No 3.
“I miss him. I’m not going to lie, I missed him in the Laver Cup. Obviously, as much time as I can spend with him, it’s a privilege for me.
“I don’t want to think that it’s a potential last dance for him in Malaga. I just want to enjoy seeing him on court as much as I can.
“It’s great support having him in the team. He can bring a lot of experience to the Davis Cup.”
Alcaraz played a key role in securing Spain’s place at the Finals, winning two singles rubbers and a doubles rubber in his nation’s successful qualification campaign in Valencia two weeks ago.
After guiding Team Europe to Laver Cup glory, the French Open and Wimbledon champion returns to ATP action at the China Open in Beijing
Alcaraz is the second seed in the Chinese capital, only behind world No 1 Jannik Sinner, and comes into the tournament feeling confident after his Laver Cup performances in Berlin.
“I played great matches in the Laver Cup, which helped me a lot to have more confidence coming to this tournament,” added the 21-year-old.
“I beat Ben Shelton, who was playing great, and Taylor Fritz, who came from the final in New York.
“Having those victories, it’s great for my confidence and level to come here with extra energy knowing I’m ready to do a good result, knowing that I have a really tough draw.”
Hearn blast Haney having a heated verbal confrontation. It is clear that both sides are not happy. Hearn disclosed that there was an issue over getting tickets for the fight. Haney texted Hearn for tickets on late notice.
The Matchroom Boxing promoter replied that he did not have any to give out, given they had been already allocated. Hearn revealed that Haney should have contacted Riyadh Season to see if some tickets could be issued. That response did not receive a reply, but when Haney appeared at the arena, he let Hearn know how he felt about it. Hearn defended his stance as he slammed The Dream.
“So, at that point, we didn’t have the tickets. I said, ‘Look, it’s not solely our show. We’re just working on the event. You may have to ask Riyadh Season for the tickets.’ No reply. So, then I’m sitting there at the show, and it’s like, ‘Wow, Eddie Hearn didn’t get me tickets.
“He’s so two-faced.’ I just replied, ‘You’re an arrogant [person].’ I pulled him at the show and said, ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ He said, ‘Hey.’ I said, ‘No, hey, hey. What are you doing?’ I said, ‘One, you couldn’t be more arrogant. Two, why aren’t you messaging me after I messaged you? You put a Tweet out? You’re like a little kid,” Hearn said
This raises questions about whether Hearn and Haney still have a good relationship. Hearn has made several other big-name signings since Haney’s fight with Garcia. Jaron Ennis is the IBF Welterweight Champion and someone who is seen as the future of the sport. Boots also has a style that resonates with the wider audience, with an undefeated record of 32-0, including 29 knockouts.
Hearn has also signed Shakur Stevenson, the WBC Lightweight Champion. While his fighting style has been criticized, he is still regarded as one of the best generational talents in the sport. Conor Benncould also return soon following his failed VADA tests for Clomiphene. Prior to the failed test, Ben was seen as one of the biggest names in British boxing. While Hearn has not said anything to suggest that their relationship with Haney has soured, he was clear that he was not happy with the conduct shown by Devin.
“I said, ‘You used to be a good kid, you did.’ I said, ‘I don’t like this arrogance that I’m seeing from you.’ I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He was like, ‘No, no. You said something about me in the media.’ I said, ‘No, I was just answering questions. I don’t represent you,” Hearn added.
In so many ways, in so many interviews, in so many fights, Claressa Shields has been trying to get her point across.
Whether the listener wanted to hear it, whether the principled message was being delivered correctly, or whether Shields was saying things that made the status quo uncomfortable, there has remained a divide keeping the masses from comprehending the greatest women’s boxer in history.
Now, as her life story, captured in the film “The Fire Inside,” heads to movie theaters in late December, Shields is hopeful her journey from Flint, Michigan, to two gold medals and world titles from junior middleweight to heavyweight will provide the needed perspective to illustrate where she’s coming from.
“I want people to understand when they watch my film that they understand what they haven’t before: that my boxing is a passion for me,” Shields said. “I’m not being forced to box, and I don’t have to box to heal. It has helped me grow into the person I was supposed to be.”
Shields, 29, sat down with BoxingScene during the recent Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fight week in Las Vegas, playing the trailer from her film written by Barry Jenkins and fighting tears knowing that her full story will be out there around Christmas, along with her return to the ring following her July second-round TKO of Vanessa Lepage-Joannise to capture the WBC heavyweight and WBO light heavyweight belts.
“By December-January, I’d like to have another fight. I’m all about history. I want the biggest and best challenges,” she said. “Right now, the heavyweight girls are calling me out. They want to fight me. I know them all, and undisputed at heavyweight will put me at the tops with Muhammad Ali and [Oleksandr] Usyk, Evander Holyfield. I’ll be able to talk to those guys.”
Before heading to training camp, Shields is savoring this experience of knowing her life story is heading to the silver screen, where so many amazing real-life and fictional works – “Raging Bull,” “Rocky,” “Ali,” “When We Were Kings” and “Million Dollar Baby” – have moved the world.
After learning a movie studio was picking up the rights to the documentary, “T-Rex,” that depicted three years of her life before and after the 2016 Olympics, Shields was contacted by Jenkins.
They met in person for four hours, with Shields maintaining her typically unfiltered, candid demeanor.
“I wanted to meet him to know I could actually trust him to do the storytelling,” she said.
She asked Jenkins, “What do you think my life story is? How do you see me? What is your perception?”
She listened to his response and replied, “OK, we’re somewhere near the same thing. This is my perception of it, and this is what I want to be included that I know you wouldn’t include in regular movies.”
About two months later, Jenkins sent Shields the script before any actors had been retained.
“Anything you want taken out, anything you want moved, anything you don’t want mentioned, let me know,” Jenkins told Shields.
She made one cut, declining to divulge what it was.
“He did a great job writing the story. Some of the stuff he included was great … because a lot of times, my story has been misconstrued,” Shields said.
It’s been known that Shields was sexually assaulted as a 5-year-old, that her mother battled alcohol abuse in Shields’ youth, and that she didn’t connect with her formerly incarcerated father until the age of 9 before taking up boxing at 11.
“People have written things that are not true or made it worse than what it was, or what I was focused on,” Shields said. “I had a very hard upbringing. But I also had boxing, and boxing saved my life.
“The story before was that I was some kind of angry black woman who got raped when I was a kid and I hate all men, so I learned how to box to fight men … that’s not my story. But that’s how it was depicted for a long time.
“So I wanted to make sure we didn’t go down that road, that we actually got it right and make it clear how I’m passionate about boxing. I love boxing. It’s what I chose to do. God chose me to box. And I’m the person who’s supposed to change the whole sport – not just with women’s boxing. But boxing, period. I’ve been able to do that.”
Shields is portrayed by actress Ryan Destiny, the boxer comparing the integrity of Destiny’s work to that of Will Smith’s in “Ali.” Rachel Morrison directed “The Fire Inside.”
“Everybody will understand that it’s always been about my passion for boxing. They think when you have trauma and then you box that it’s all about trauma, anger and boxing. That you’re angry,” Shields explained.
“I’m not angry to box. It’s something I’ve taken the most joy in my life from doing. I’m passionate about boxing.”
It’s why she’s had no problem calling out fighters like Gervonta Davis for his domestic violence, Ryan Garcia over his erratic behavior and Jake Paul over comments that he’s helped grow women’s boxing by putting multi-division champion Amanda Serrano on his cards.
“When you see a guy come talking trash to me and hear me say, ‘I’ll kick his ass,’ I really mean that – in the most humble way,” Shields said. “I’ve done that. I do that. I train very hard.”
She even took Alvarez to task, responding to his comment that he accepted the Sept. 14 date against big underdog Edgar Berlanga because Canelo had “fought everyone else.”
“Canelo hasn’t fought everyone. We still haven’t seen (David) Benavidez. Benavidez and (Dmitrii) Bivol. There’s people for him to fight, and there’s people for me to fight, too,” Shields said.
“When you can go as low as 154 and go all the way to heavyweight, there’s always going to be someone very good who can challenge you. There’s girls at 154 who I think can challenge me. They’re just scared. I think they’re good!”
By sparring against men for most of her boxing career, Shields said she has developed a toughness and grit that has contributed greatly to her 15-0 pro record.
“Me boxing – having to rise to these occasions, having to be on TV, having desires outside the ring – has helped me grow into the woman I am today,” she said. “It was all from my passion of fighting. It’s why I did MMA. I didn’t do MMA because I’m angry. I did it because I’m a great ass kicker. I can kick ass in MMA and boxing.”
Shields made it clear in her conversation with BoxingScene that she relishes being a woman.
“I can go to 147 (pounds), but I told (promoters and networks), ‘I need a couple million for that. Because my butt’s going to get little. And I don’t want that,’” Shields said, adding in her present-day weight of 178 pounds. “I like how I look. That means a lot. I’m a woman. These other girls out there looking all strong … I look strong, but I look feminine. That’s very important to me. I’m a woman boxer – woman first. I need to keep my curves and my looks. You want me to go to 147, I will. Just pay me my money.”
And while Alvarez, at 34, has expressed some fatigue with the business of boxing, Shields says she’s continually enthused by the sport.
“I’m always excited to fight. That’s the difference between me and other people. I’m in the back room dancing before a fight, they’re telling me, ‘Claressa, sit down, save your energy,’” she said.
“I’ve already put myself through the hard work, the brutal stress and the roadwork. Now, I get to eat, drink my water and juice and now I get to fight with no restraints.
“In sparring, you don’t want to knock your partners out. When you’ve got a fight, hey, it’s all or nothing. I love when I get to be as mean as I want to be, punch as hard as I want to punch, with nobody saying, ‘Hey, taper it down some.’ No, it’s, ‘Keep turning it up.’ I’m excited about that every time. And the buildup, too. These girls saying I don’t have power, that I haven’t fought nobody. It’s just, ‘Back it up when we get in there.’ When they can’t do that, I beat ‘em up real bad.”
Watching those scenes of her life play out on the big screen at the film’s screening in Toronto recently was powerful, leaving the strong-minded champion fighter reduced to a puddle of tears at times.
“God has done some miraculous things with my life that I can’t put into words. I’m grateful and thankful to see what God has done with this little Black girl from Flint,” Shields said.
She said she’s always been touched by a Biblical passage urging the faithful to maintain hope for the future, where prosperity awaits. Shields did so and was rewarded.
Asked what scenes made her weep, she said, “You have to come and see it, and you will know why I cry. Reliving it on film … you usually don’t get to do that with your life. You may get to watch a couple family videos. For me, to have a movie of my life is tear-worthy by itself.
“Happy tears, sad tears, all over the place. But you will leave feeling like you can conquer the world.”
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