Boxing

Terence Crawford Takes Firm Stance On Claressa Shields, Laila Ali GOAT Debate

Terence Crawford didn't mince words when asserting the women's boxing GOAT between Claressa Shields and Laila Ali.
Grant Young|
Terence Crawford during a July 27, 2023 press conference.
Terence Crawford during a July 27, 2023 press conference. | IMAGO / Hoganphotos

Most fans of the sweet science can agree that the discussion regarding the greatest women's boxer of all time is between two fighters: Claressa Shields and Laila Ali.

Laila Ali (who is the daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali) competed professionally from 1999 to 2007. During this time, she won the WBC, WIBA, IWBF, and IBA female super-middleweight titles, the IWBF light heavyweight title, and retired with a perfect 24-0 professional record that included 21 KO victories.

Claressa Shields is still an active fighter. But to this point in her career, she has produced two Olympic gold medals, won multiple undisputed championships in five different weight classes, and currently has an undefeated professional record of 16-0 with 3 KOs.

While debate about which of these two women has produced the better career continues, pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford delivered his own verdict during his April 28 appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast.

"Of all time," Crawford said when Shannon Sharpe said Shields is unquestionably the best women's boxer today. "All time. And I love Laila [Ali]."

After Sharpe showed his surprise, Crawford added, "There's no comparison at all. I love Laila, too. But ain't nobody coming close to Claressa. Two-time Olympic gold medalist? Three-time undisputed? How many weight classes she did? Six?... Now I understand there ain't a lot of women boxers. But that still don't take away the accolades.

"So it's no comparison," Crawford concluded, asserting Shields' superiority over Ali.

That's a powerful and definitive stance from Crawford that many boxing fans would certainly agree with.

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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.