Claressa Shields' 2018 a taste of what's to come for her career, women's boxing

Chris Walker

Claressa Shields' 2018 a taste of what's to come for her career, women's boxing image

Claressa Shields enjoyed a stellar 2018. A television darling impressing the audiences of Showtime, HBO and DAZN, Shields extended her flawless slate to 8-0 in 2018, as she added a cluster of honors to her profile.

Despite a highly anticipated outing against Christina Hammer falling through at the year’s backend, Shields dusted off the disappointment the only way she knows: by fighting and further adding to her already astonishing legacy.

A product of the volatile region of Flint, Michigan, Shields overcame a turbulent childhood littered with a debilitating speech impediment and several cases of abuse. Like many before her and some since, Shields used boxing to give her life purpose. Honing her craft in what was — and largely still is — a man’s world, Shields became a master and she showcased her dominance across the world as a regular podium dweller at a variety of international tournaments.

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Armed with a collection of medals, Shields turned to the professional code with more than ambition to just win world titles. A pioneer for female boxing, the two-time Olympic gold medalist is not content with being adorned with glitzy belts and lucrative purses — the generation that is following her is very much at the center of Shields’ focus and she holds major hopes that she can become a trendsetter for those walking behind her.

“After I’ve left this sport I want to be happy knowing that I did all I could to make sure that women boxers got a lot of coverage on TV, that they main-evented shows, that they made good money and had purses for millions of dollars, that there was equality between men and women’s boxing," Shields told Sporting News in November

"That’s why I want big fights now and not wait around because I don’t know how long I’m going to be here for. There’s so many good women boxers out there at the moment and if they’re all willing to test themselves and be in the best fights then it’ll go some way in making people take notice of what we’re trying to do.”

Although her 2018 didn’t contain the fight she desperately craves, Shields made do with disposing of a suitable list of contenders as she outpointed Tori Nelson, Hanna Gabriels, Hannah Rankin, and Femke Hermans. Surrounded by a team that includes Mark Taffet, John David Jackson and Dimitri Salita, Shields has a squad in place that can guide her further than boxing royalty and that is likely to gather pace in 2019 starting with Christina Hammer in the first quarter.

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With the undefeated pair originally slated to square off in November, Shields offered a disgruntled view after the fell through due to an undisclosed medical reason provided by Hammer.

“It was a chance to prove a point to the whole world and show everyone who the best out of us is," Shields told SN. "She’s someone who’s been around a long time, she’s undefeated and she’s been a world champion pretty much from the start of her career. I’ve had six fights and already I want to go in with someone like her and have the chance to show people that I’m the best female fighter in the world.”

Climbing the amateur ladder to dizzying heights in both 2012 and 2016 when representing her country in summer competition, Shields might go onto make 2019 her most satisfying year yet. A battle with Hammer will answer a ton of questions regarding boxing’s most dominant woman, but it’s highly unlikely, win, lose or draw, that this will be Shields’ defining moment.

Her wishes and dreams go far beyond her chosen sport, but a successful 2019 should help her get closer to realizing them.

Chris Walker