Claressa Shields Shreds Laila Ali Over Refusal To Accept Fight

One of the biggest stories in what has been a busy year for women's boxing is the ongoing feud between undisputed heavyweight champion Claressa Shields (17-0, 3 KOs) and boxing legend Laila Ali (24-1, 21 KOs), who is the daughter of the iconic Muhammad Ali.

Shields has been beckoning for a fight against Ali for years now. While this never prompted much of a response from Ali (who is 17 years older than Shields and hasn't entered the ring since 2007), things changed once Ali said she would consider fighting Shields if she were offered $15-20 million earlier this year.

This comment intensified Shields' efforts to make this fight happen, which included her (supposedly) generating the money Ali asked for and repeatedly calling her out in interviews and other public appearances. Despite this, Ali never offered an official response to whether she would actually entertain coming out of retirement to fight Shields, even if she could make that $15 million.

LAILA ALI, hall of fame boxer, speaking on a panel on August 24, 2023. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Laila Ali Shuts Down Claressa Shields Fight With Clear Verdict

Ali published a YouTube video on October 16 that criticized Shields for her disrespectful callouts, even going so far as to say that Shields has a "divisive, vindictive, and malicious nature."

Ali ended the video by saying a follow-up was coming where she would address whether she'd accept Shields' fight summons. This came on October 30, and Ali said, "So, did her plan work? Did she make me mad enough to come out of retirement after 18 years and start training again, to make her dream of fighting me, and having a big payday, courtesy of Laila Ali, come true? Absolutely not.

"[Shields] will not be rewarded with the opportunity to share the ring with me, or anything else. There's your answer," Ali later added.

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Claressa Shields Responds to Laila Ali Fight Refusal

It didn't take Shields long to watch and respond to Ali turning down her fight callouts, as she made an X post on the morning of October 31 that read, "Y’all be fooled by anything 🤣🤣 'I won’t
Reward her with a fight' how are you
Rewarding me by supposedly knocking me
Out 😂😂 being knocked out is not a reward. All that bark with no bite 'we all know she can’t bust a grape'

"But you don’t want to get hit by me though 👊🏾".

Y’all be fooled by anything 🤣🤣 “I won’t
Reward her with a fight” how are you
Rewarding me by supposedly knocking me
Out 😂😂 being knocked out is not a reward. All that bark with no bite “we all know she can’t bust a grape”

But you don’t want to get hit by me though 👊🏾
— Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) October 31, 2025

No matter what else Shields wants to say, it seems that Ali's mind is made up. Therefore, boxing fans now have to move on from this dream matchup.

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