Claressa Shields Honored by City Ahead of Kaye Scott Title Fight

Claressa Shields officially has a celebratory day in two American cities.

Shields received her first honorary day on Aug. 29, 2012, when the Flint County Board of Commissioners declared it 'Claressa Shields Day' to celebrate the then-17-year-old's gold medal at the London Summer Olympics. The city later gave her another day on April 27, 2019, two weeks after her undisputed middleweight title victory over Christina Hammer.

Now, another city is declaring Aug. 15 as 'Claressa GWOAT Shields Appreciation Day.' The Atlanta City Council recognized the boxer on Thursday, two weeks before her title fight against WBC and WBA women's middleweight champion Kaye Scott.

Atlanta recognizes Claressa Shields

"The city of Atlanta is proud to recognize Ms. Shields as an Atlanta resident whose leadership and accomplishments contribute to our city's legacy of athletic excellence, cultural influence and Black achievements," said Atlanta City Council member Wayne Martin at the Shields vs. Scott press conference, via Fight Hub TV.

"Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that we, the members of the Atlanta City Council, on behalf of the residents of Atlanta, do hereby honor Claressa 'The GWOAT' Shields for her historic achievements, her unwavered pursuit of greatness, her advocacy for women in sports and an inspiring example of courage, resilience and excellence. Today is Claressa 'The GWOAT' Shields Day in the city of Atlanta."

Martin clarified that Wynn Records and Salita Promotions were also recognized on the official document presented to Shields to commemorate her day.

Claressa Shields reacts to Atlanta's 'GWOAT' Day Recognition

Shields was understandably emotional when the Atlanta City Council surprised her with the honor. The 31-year-old opened up about how surreal it was for her to receive that recognition from a city in which she was not born.

"I have all types of days and proclamations in Flint and Detroit, but now I got days in Atlanta?" Shields said via DAZN. "I've been telling my team for the longest time, 'We need to fight in Atlanta.' Because I'm really in tune with my social media and Atlanta is like, 'We want you to come fight here.' So I really forced my team to make this decision... It's like I was born to make history or something like that.

"I'm already thinking about the barbeques and stuff I'm gonna have next year for Claressa Shields Day. I'm gonna throw, like, a party or something. This is huge. I'm gonna have fireworks and everything."

We LOVE GWOAT appreciation day! 👏#ShieldsScott | Aug 15 | Watch only on DAZN 🤳 pic.twitter.com/QpZBz5Dh5o
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 13, 2026

Shields still has to get through Scott to avoid 'Claressa GWOAT Shields Appreciation Day' from becoming a painful reminder instead of a celebration. She is an enormous 30-1 favorite to reclaim two of her former titles and become a simultaneous two-division champion.

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