NEW YORK — Claressa Shields, arguably the biggest star in women’s boxing, has a precise vision for the rest of her professional career now that she has the certainty of a two-year promotional deal worth a guaranteed $8 million.
She’s 30, undefeated in 17 pro fights over nine years with championships in five weight classes, and wants to retire at 38. She wants two or three bouts in 2026, then to take a year off to have a child. She wants to keep upping her paydays, comparing her ambition to that of Floyd Mayweather Jr., and expects to earn $15 million or more next year when accounting for things like tickets, merchandise, social engagement and the other ways boxers make money beyond their immediate fight purses.
Shields said in an interview Thursday that her agreement with Salita Promotions and Wynn Records, for at least four bouts, even gives her the flexibility to talk with outside promoters about crossover fights, widening her options to scenarios that previously have been limited for women.
“I feel like I’m finally getting my just due,” Shields told a room full of supporters and some journalists as she announced the deal Thursday at a swanky Asian fusion restaurant not far from Times Square in Manhattan.
Shields, who won Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016 to become the first American boxer of any gender to win two golds before turning professional, tested free agency after defending her four heavyweight belts in July. She has held all four major belts simultaneously in three different weight classes, has fought in mixed martial arts and has openly lobbied for marquee bouts, including a highly unlikely push to fight Laila Ali, who is undefeated with 24 wins but is also 47 and has not fought since 2007.
Shields after beating Danielle Perkins in February. (Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
Shields described her months of free agency as “stressful” following her last title defense, a bout in Detroit that drew about 15,000 fans.
She negotiated with major outfits like Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, which teamed up to make splashy shows featuring Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. But Shields ultimately went back to Salita, the promotional company led by the former pro boxer Dmitriy Salita, because the guaranteed money was better, their trust was established and the deal was broadened by new backing from Wynn Records, a talent agency primarily in music but with expertise in putting on live events (her boyfriend, the rapper Papoose, is an executive at Wynn Records).
Shields said the up-front payment of $3 million under her new deal, which she described as a signing bonus, was a primary goal as she tested the market. Other promotional companies, while willing to negotiate, she said, offered only $1 million or $2 million guaranteed.
“I’m talking to them, and it seems like my goals are too big, right? And the money I want is too much,” Shields told The Athletic while sporting a necklace with block lettering in diamonds that spelled out one of her nicknames, “GWOAT,” for the greatest woman of all time.
Shields, who is also nicknamed “T-Rex,” told reporters that the new agreement made up for feelings of being shorted early in her career, when her bonus in 2016 after turning pro fell well short of $1 million even though she had won her second gold medal at middleweight at the Rio de Janeiro Games, four years after her first gold at the London Olympics.
“Usually when a man had an Olympic gold medal, he turned pro and they signed him to a million-dollar contract,” she said. “Well, I didn’t get that, even though I had two Olympic gold medals.”
Oscar De La Hoya earned bonuses and cash eclipsing $1 million after he turned pro following the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, plus about $150,000 for his first fight, the Los Angeles Times reported in 1992.
Salita said in an interview that Shields earned $50,000 in their first bout together, her second professional fight, in 2017.
“Claressa, she’s very confident, she’s unapologetic about what she feels women’s sports and herself should be, and she supports other talented women fighters,” Salita said. “But she’s the first, she’s No. 1 and she’s the GWOAT, that’s undeniable.”
And her ambitions have grown in kind. “I’m trying to get to where I can make $50 million for one fight, just like Floyd did, before I retire,” Shields said. “So, I believe that starting at an $8 million minimum is a great start.”
The problem, of course, is that Shields already has scant opponents who would not be a heavy underdog and even fewer with enough recognition to help Shields build hype for a headline fight. That has required flexibility from Shields in terms of weight divisions, and a bit of promotional creativity that could be considered peculiar were this not a sport where one of the most popular recent fights was Paul fighting a 58-year-old Mike Tyson a year ago.
Shields did not overtly lobby Thursday to fight Ali, though Salita, her promoter, suggested the bout, given an already public, bitter feud between the contemporaries whose professional years (currently) have a nine-year gap. “If a fight ever happens with Laila Ali, an exhibition or a fight, that’s going to be the biggest thing in sports,” Salita said. “That will take women’s boxing to the next level.”
Ali, a daughter of Muhammad Ali, said on her YouTube show last week that she firmly did not plan to come out of retirement or to help Shields earn a big payday. “She will not be rewarded with the opportunity to share the ring with me or anything else,” said Ali, who said she was offended by some of Shields’ insults about her legacy and an unflattering comparison with her father, though she did say Shields’ power “can’t bust a grape.” Shields, for her part, retorted that Ali was “all bark with no bite,” adding: “You don’t want to get hit by me, though.”
Shields suggested a different fight Thursday, a bout with Mikaela Mayer, who is 22-2 and won at 151 pounds last week. “The way she beat up Mary Spencer, I would love to see her throw those punches at me,” Shields said. “That’d be a great time.”
Though no bouts have been announced, Shields and her promoters say she intends to fight in the first quarter of 2026. And, she said, she does not plan to return to MMA, where she is 2-1, because Papoose requested that she remain in boxing. “Such a masterful boxer, such a scientist in the ring, why go in there and play around with that?” he said.
Shields said her earnings from boxing were well outpacing the $300,000 to $400,000 she was earning for each MMA bout anyway, so she was willing to stick to her main sport. “I said that I wouldn’t do it because he cannot handle it,” she said.
Shields said in an interview that she wants to compete next year so that she can take a break at age 32 to have a baby before returning to the ring for the rest of her career.
“If the baby comes in between that time, again, cool. If not, it’s cool, too. I just always wanted to make sure that I have my own family once I’m done boxing,” Shields said. “I didn’t want to start having kids when I’m 40.”
She also wants to stick around the sport long enough — 2033 or 2034 if she follows her stated timeline — to potentially fight competitors who build themselves up enough to catch her attention over the next several years.
“I want to be able to embrace the younger generation, but I have to have all the fight out of me first,” she said. “So that’s why I want to retire at 38.”
