Olympic champion boxer Claressa Shields and undefeated UFC star Ronda Rousey might just be the two most feared female fighters on the planet.
Shields, though, could see a set of circumstances where she would step into a ring and a cage with Rousey.
“I’m not ever doing mixed martial arts,” Shields said, according to ESPN.com. “I don’t understand the sport. Ronda is great at what she does, but, for one thing, I don’t know how to wrestle. I’m a straight boxer. I know the sweet science. I don’t know how to fight off the ground or be on the ground.
“But in the middle of my professional career [after turning pro following the 2016 Olympics], if Ronda wants to transfer over to boxing, I’ll box her and we can make a deal. First, she boxes me, then I go into the MMA ring ... I know for a fact I would beat her in boxing. That’s simple. But MMA? Uh, no. I’d give [the win] to her, but I would give her a fight.”
Shields, 20, hasn’t lost since winning gold at the first Olympics to include women’s boxing in 2012. She has just one defeat overall and can run her record to 60-1 with a Pan Am Games title Friday, according to ESPN.com.
The Flint, Mich., native is so intimidating that her 2014 World Championships first-round opponent’s trainer threw in the towel to end the fight at the 11-second mark. She was named Outstanding Boxer of the Tournament across all divisions.
A challenge for Shields, who has sparred with a boyfriend, has been finding women willing to compete against her.
Rousey, too, is running out of opponents. The 2008 Olympic judo bronze medalist is 11-0 in four years since switching to mixed martial arts, her most recent bout ending in 14 seconds on Feb. 28.