Whenever someone posts or quips about a list of the best or most influential anything ever, there’s going to be scrutiny that follows. Whether the response is due to perceived subjectivity, or blatant misses, we’ve all seen it happen, and witnessed the heated debates that followed. Social media is a hot-bed for that type of thing.
Well, on Friday, ESPN aired a graphic, and it recognized female athletes like Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and Caitlin Clark as trailblazers in women’s sports. It also went on to describe others, including male boxers impacting the sport today. There was immediate blow back cornering ESPN for making a clear error in omissions in the graphic. Never too shy to express her opinion, Flint native and boxing great Clarissa Shields didn’t let her omission slide.
Claressa Shields, the self-proclaimed “Greatest Woman of All-Time” (GWOAT) in boxing, recently called out ESPN after being left off an esteemed list of trailblazing athletes.
Shields’ frustration stems from what she perceives as a lack of recognition for her significant achievements in boxing, and the fact that she views those to be just as important as the men. Some key points about Shields’ career and accomplishments include:
- She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning in the women’s middleweight division in 2012 and 2016.
- Shields has won world titles in multiple weight classes, including middleweight, super middleweight, and most recently, light heavyweight and heavyweight.
- She is currently undefeated as a professional boxer with a record of 15-0, including 3 knockouts.
- Shields is ranked No. 1 in ESPN’s Women’s pound-for-pound list.
Shields also was voted ESPY Award for Best Female Fighter in 2021, and she is a 3X undisputed champ, once holding WBC, WBO, and IBF titles in two divisions. Despite these accomplishments, Shields feels that her greatness is not fully appreciated by fans and media. She has expressed concern about the lack of respect she receives, stating, “I feel like I haven’t got my utmost respect yet, but I know that I respect myself and I know that everything I’ve accomplished has been off grit and hard work and nobody can take that away from me”.
Clarissa Shields expressed her frustration with how the network categorized and ranked female boxers, particularly if they didn’t acknowledge her accomplishments alongside legends like Laila Ali. Shields felt that her achievements deserved more recognition. We could not agree more. They do.
Shields has been vocal about wanting to elevate women’s boxing and ensure that current athletes are properly recognized for their contributions to the sport. Her comments highlighted a broader conversation about respect and visibility for female boxers in a historically male-dominated sport
The omission from ESPN’s list appears to have further reinforced Shields’ belief that she is not receiving the recognition she deserves. This incident aligns with what she perceives as other forms of disrespect she has endured throughout her career.
While the specific reasons for ESPN’s decision to exclude Shields from the list are not provided, it has clearly struck a nerve with the boxer, leading to her public call-out of the sports network.
A Perspective
Hasn’t she endured enough? She grew in tough Flint, she had to fend for her brother and sister, she was molested and raped. As a result, she went inside of herself, super quiet, angry, feeling betrayed, she didn’t trust anybody, so she had to rebuild her own confidence from the ground up. She wanted to fight for herself, her family, and her city so that somehow someone else could find a little hope and faith. And T-Rex did just that. She earned everything the hard way. When you are head down with focus, used to training, winning and working harder than everyone else, you tend to feel obligated to speak when you need to. And, you want your respect. She deserves every bit of it for what she has overcome and accomplished. So, a little more respect on that name please!
