Boxing champion Claressa Shields recently called out ESPN for leaving her off its Trailblazing Athletes list, which included the likes of Simone Biles, Serena Williams, Katie Ledecky, and Caitlin Clark.
Last week, ESPN aired a graphic honoring these women as trailblazers in women’s sports. While these female athletes are undoubtedly talented in their respective sports, Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and world boxing champion, was missing from the conversation.
Shields has never been the one to shy away from sharing her opinion and took to social media to air out her grievances. Earlier this week, Shields shared an image of herself surrounded by multiple championship belts and Olympic medals in an effort to showcase her many achievements.
“Wow @espn Y’all have really lost yall mind!!!!! Do I have to run my resume down to y’all!!! 2x Olympic champ,” she tweeted. “3x Undisputed champ 5 weight world champion 15x world champ WOMENS BOXING Trailblazer.”
Wow @espn Y’all have really lost yall mind!!!!! Do I have to run my resume down to y’all!!!
2x Olympic champ 🥇 🥇
3x Undisputed champ
5 weight world champion
15x world champ
WOMENS BOXING TRAIL BLAZER pic.twitter.com/7660MudKDu— Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) September 26, 2024
To educate you on Shields’ resume, at just 29 years old, she has achieved an outstanding career. She initially stepped into the boxing world when she was 17, winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics. What made this accolade even more impressive was that Shields became the first American woman to win the title. However, she did not stop there. In 2016, Shields returned to the Rio Olympics, where she scored another gold medal. Since then, Shields has gone on to become a five-division world champion and is the only boxer to hold undisputed titles simultaneously in two different weight classes.
Her most recent milestone came in July when she moved up to heavyweight to face off with Canadian Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse. Naturally a middleweight, Shields won the WBO light-heavyweight title and the WBC heavyweight title in the second-round technical knockout. This accomplishment should be celebrated, considering that she competed in a different weight class. Her career will be highlighted in the upcoming film, “The Fire Inside,” where Ryan Destiny will portray the fighter.
Shields’ frustration is understandable, seeing as though female boxers tend to get overlooked compared to their male peers. ESPN has not responded to her statements.
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