Boxing

Claressa Shields Completes Laila Ali Callout With $15 Million Check

Claressa Shields put her money where her mouth is when it comes to a callout of Laila Ali.
Grant Young|
Claressa Shields at the 2023 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre.
Claressa Shields at the 2023 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre. | IMAGO / Cover-Images

Women's boxing legend Laila Ali was asked what it would take to bring her out of retirement to fight Claressa Shields while she was attending the July 11 trilogy fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.

"The rumor that I heard is that unless somebody has $15, $20 million, don't even call me [about a fight against Shields]. That's all I got," Ali responded. "I said unless somebody calls me and says they have it, we're not even gonna have a conversation. I'm not trying to come back and fight, but if someone offered that kind of money, I would actually have to think about it."

This response prompted Shields (who has been beckoning the 47-year-old Ali to fight her for years now) to make an X post that wrote, "What a great weekend of boxing 🥊! Really motivated! Now @TheRealLailaAli I’m the GREATEST NOW! Be careful what you ask for ! You know I’ve been wanting to make you eat your words! You not a better boxer than me & at 175 I’ll put you on your back! BEEN READY FOR YOU! #GWOAT @claressashields".

And these weren't empty words from Shields. This was proven by her forking up the $15 million that Ali requested, which was shown with a recent video from TMZ where the "GWOAT" said, "Laila, I'm here with my team. I got some great news for you. We got the $15 million!

"Let's make a fight between me and you. The best versus the best. The greats versus the greats. The GWOAT versus Muhammad Ali's daughter, Laila Ali. Let's make it happen," she added.

There was also more than just the video, as Shields has been seen posing with a giant $15 million check that's addressed to Ali, which has since gone viral on social media.

Ali has yet to offer a response.

The Latest Boxing News

Boxing Tonight (7/19/25): Cards, Start Times & How To Watch Pacquiao vs Barrios, Usyk vs Dubois, & More

Oleksandr Usyk's Purse vs Daniel Dubois Will Make Tyson Fury Furious

Claressa Shields Tells Laila Ali To 'Eat Your Words' Amid Fight Callout

Laila Ali Reveals The Price She'd Consider To Fight Claressa Shields

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.