Claressa Shields' fight stirs talk of Laila Ali, potential blockbuster
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Laila Ali lives with her family an easy drive from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, where Claressa Shields will be fighting Saturday, Aug. 15.
“I’m holding two ringside tickets for her,’’ Shields’ promoter, Dmitriy Salita, told USA TODAY Sports.
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Apparently that won’t be necessary.
Amber Noble, Ali’s business partner, told USA TODAY Sports, “No, she absolutely won’t be attending.’’
A potential blockbuster fight between Shields and Ali fizzled in October after a war of words. And they're probably more likely to to bump into each other in a coffee shop than in a boxing ring. (Shields also lives in Atlanta.)
But even as Shields prepared to fight Kaye Scott Saturday for the women’s WBC and WBA middleweight titles at 20,000-seat State Farm Arena, Salita expressed hope a bout between Shields and Ali will materialize.
“I think it's a bigger fight than State Farm Arena, with all due respect,’’ Salita said. “It would be bigger than Mayweather versus McGregor.’’
Salita was referring to the fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor in 2017. That fight sold 4.3 million pay-per-views, second most behind only the 4.6 million sold for the fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in 2015.
Although Ali implied she never would work with Shields, Salita points out Ali never explicitly ruled out the fight.
Both women likely would enter the fight with unblemished records. Ali was 24-0 with 21 knockouts when she retired. Shields is 18-0 with three knockouts heading into her fight against Scott.
But there’s also the issue of age. Shields is 31 and in her prime. Ali is 48 and has not fought professionally since 2007.
At a time when Shields was calling out Ali, she and her team filmed a video during which they showed a $15 million novelty check. It was meant to represent the financial guarantee for Ali if she agreed to fight.
Whatever happened to the check?
“It’s waiting to be cashed,’’ Salita said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Claressa Shields' fight stirs talk of Laila Ali, potential blockbuster