Learn how this woman went from being bullied as a youngster to being one of the most feared and well-paid female fighters in the world.
If you mess with her, she’ll beat you up like a deer in the headlights. Claressa Shields, a 25-year-old female pro boxer, has won titles in three weight divisions. In fact, as of January 2020, BoxRec ranked her as the top current female light middleweight boxer in the world.
Her excellent professional record of 10-0, including two knockouts, makes her the undisputed female middleweight champion of the world. To the displeasure of a few candidates, she has declared herself the Greatest Woman of All Time (GWOAT).
Claressa Shields’ Childhood
Shields grew up in the Flint, Michigan area. Marcella Adams and Clarence “Bo” Shields, a former boxer who played in underground circles, are her parents. Claressa’s father served time in prison for breaking and entering from 1996 to 2004.
Marcella, Claressa’s mother, was an alcoholic who couldn’t maintain a job, according to Claressa. She’d be left to care after her three brothers while the matriarch was gone for days. There were times when the youngsters went without food.
QUICK FACTS
| Full Name | Claressa Shields |
| Stage Name | T-Rex |
| Age | 25 yo |
| Date of Birth | 17 March 1995 |
| Place of Birth | Flint, Michigan |
| Height | 5’8 (173 cm) |
| Weight | 75 kg |
| Father | Clarence “Bo” Shields |
| Mother | Marcella Adams |
| Ethnicity | African-American |
| Nationality | American |
| Lives in | Boynton Beach, Florida |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye color | Dark Brown |
| Profession | Professional Boxer |
| Education | Oliver College |
| Relationship status | Single |
| Ex- boyfriend | Ardreal Holmes |
| Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
| Total Net worth | $4M |
| Social media Presence | https://www.instagram.com/claressashields/
https://www.patreon.com/trexfitness |
| Agent contact details | Contact: @proplayersports
AthleteSpeakers 800-916-6008 for a keynote speech, virtual meetings, corporate appearance, grand opening, product announcement, moderated Q&A or for an exclusive meet and greet. |
| Awards & Recognitions | WBC and WBO Junior middleweight title (2020)
WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO middleweight title (2019)
The Ring magazine’s middleweight title (2019)
USA Boxing Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame (2018) WBAN super-middleweight title (2018)
WBA and IBF middleweight belts (2018)
Christy Martin Award – Female Fighter of the Year (2018) WBC super-middleweight belt (2017, 2018)
IBF super-middleweight belt (2017, 2018)
NABF middleweight title (2017)
Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Award for “Biggest Powerhouse.” (2017)
AMBC Olympic Qualifying tournament (2016)
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| Trivia | Her first and only loss was to Savannah Marshall in 2012. |
Assaulted Claressa Shields
Claressa was a timid, stick-thin girl with untidy hair as a youngster. Her mother’s lover reportedly raped her when she was five years old. When Marcela went to work at Wal-Mart, she was assaulted a few times. Claressa’s mother did not trust her when she told her.
Claressa was taken to the hospital afterwards, but it appeared that too much time had gone for the boyfriend’s culpability to be determined. Later, he was severely abused by a relative and fled Flint.
Claressa’s grandma, Joanne Adams, thought she was speaking the truth and bought a doll for her to convey what had occurred. Shields credits her grandma for encouraging her to reject gender stereotypes. In 2018, almost eight years after Joanne died of cancer, the girl boxer sent a touching memorial letter to her grandma.
Claressa Shields Defends Herself
She was a timid child who seldom talked in class and was likely tormented by her classmates. She didn’t fight back until she was 11 years old and had had enough, when she hit a bully in the face and knocked him to the ground.
Claressa Shields’ father has been released from prison.
Bo told Claressa about Laila Ali, the daughter of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, during their restored relationship upon his release from prison. Because their fathers are both boxers, Laila would stimulate Claressa’s interest in the sport.
Claressa began attending to the Berston Field House in Flint as a high school student, where she met her future coach and trainer, Jason Crutchfield.
Claressa Shields: Amateur Career
She won the Women’s Elite Continental Championships against three-time reigning world champion Mary Spencer, with a record of 25 wins and no defeats at the time.
Shields won the middleweight championship in her first open-division event and qualified for the US Olympic Trials in 2011.
Shields, who was only 16 at the time, became the youngest boxer to compete in the US Olympic trials in February 2012. After defeating incumbent national champion Franchón Crews-Dezurn, 2010 global champion Andrecia Wasson, and Pittsburgh’s Tika Hemingway, she was proclaimed the middleweight (165 lb/75 kg) class winner.
Her amateur boxing record was 77 wins, with 19 knockout victories.
Olympic Success for Shields
Shields also became the first American female boxer to win an Olympic gold medal, since women’s boxing became an Olympic event for the first time in 2012. Shields defeated Russian boxer Nadezda Torlopova 19–12 in London, where the 2012 Summer Olympics were held.
Shields earned her second Olympic gold medal in boxing at the 2016 Olympics, becoming her the first American female or male boxer to win consecutive Olympic medals in the sport.
In 2014 and 2015, she won gold at the World Championships and became the first American woman to win championships in women’s boxing at the Olympics and Pan American Games.
Claressa Shields: Professional Career
She has been a professional boxer since November 2016, and she won her maiden fight against Franchón Crews-Dezurn by unanimous decision.
Her battle for the NABF middleweight title versus Szilvia Szabados was the co-main event on ShoBox in March 2017. She defeated Nikki Adler in the same year, claiming the WBC super-middleweight title and the vacant IBF super-middleweight title.
Shields retained both titles in 2018 and also defeated Tori Nelson to win the WBAN super-middleweight championship. She also won the vacant WBA and inaugural IBF middleweight titles, making her the first woman to be a two-weight world champion in the sport’s history.
Claressa Shields is the current world record holder
Her outstanding record places her among boxing’s greats, since she is one of just seven female or male fighters in history to have all four major world titles—WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO. Bernard Hopkins (2004–2005), Jermain Taylor (2005), Cecilia Brkhus (2014–), Terence Crawford (2017), Oleksandr Usyk (2018–2019), and Katie Taylor (2019–) are the remaining cast members.
Claressa Shields’ Most Expensive Pay-Per-View Battles
Claressa Shields’ victory over Femke Hermans in December 2018 drew the highest ratings during HBO’s last boxing broadcast. The bout drew up to 379,000 viewers and kicked off HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” triple header. The IBF, WBC, and WBA middleweight belts were on the line in this 10-rounder.
Shields’ victory over Hanna Gabriels garnered 410K views only six months prior.
Shields won a majority decision against Christina Hammer in 2019 to become the undisputed women’s middleweight world champion. She won the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO middleweight belts, as well as the first middleweight belt from The Ring magazine.
In January 2020, Shields won the WBC and WBO Junior middleweight titles by majority decision over Ivana Habazin.
What was Claressa Shields’ net worth?
It’s unknown how much money these fights earned in for female boxers, but in 2005, Christy Martin and Lucia Rijker were set to battle for a high-paying bout.
Each was promised a basic salary of $250K, with the winner receiving an additional $500K, bringing the total prize pool to $1 million and raising the winner’s income to $750K.
Unfortunately, it was not successful.
Esparza vs. Shields
Outside of the ring, Shields has a rival in Marlen Esparza, a fellow pro boxer.
Shields’ declaration of herself as boxing’s “Greatest Woman of All-Time” (GWOAT) did not sit well with Houston Fighter Of The Year 2010-2014, who said it improper and insulting to the sport and its athletes.
Shields responded by telling Esparza to focus on her own career rather than Shields’.
Esparza’s defeat against Seniesa Estrada in November of last year sparked the nasty confrontation.
Claressa Shields’ Net Worth
| Estimated Net Worth 2020 | $ 4M |
| How Much Did Claressa Shields Earn Last year? | $1.5M |
| What are Claressa Shields’ Income Sources? | Boxing fights, Social Media, Appearances |
| How Much Did Claressa Shields Earn in Boxing fights? | $1.3M |
| How Much Did Claressa Shields Earn in Social Media? | $ 50K |
| How Much Did Claressa Shields Earn in Appearances? | $150K |
According to the Wall Street Journal, Shields’ income in 2016 consisted mostly of a $3K monthly stipend, in addition to the $25K prize for being one of the gold medalists. She landed 2016 sponsorships with Audi, McDonald’s, Mini, Powerade, and Swimsuits for All later that year.
In the years that followed, her rising renown was accompanied by a rise in her net worth. For example, her predicted 2019 earnings from two high-profile pay-per-view fights for HBO might easily have topped $1 million.
Subscribers to her Patreon account pay $45 for a 30-minute Zoom one-on-one exercise, $75 for one-on-one instruction, and $100 for boxing basics training.
According to AthleteSpeakers, Shields costs $20K to $30K for appearances such as keynote speeches, virtual meetings, corporate visits, grand openings, product announcements, moderated Q&As, or an exclusive meet and greet.
Claressa Shields’ Car and Residence
In 2019, she shared a photo of a sleek luxury orange convertible automobile, a $66K 2020 Chevrolet Corvette. In 2020, she purchased her own home for an undisclosed sum.
