Claressa Shields vs. Laila Ali, the two female boxers’ current beef explained

What started as friendly guidance between Laila Ali and Claressa Shields has evolved into one of the sport’s most talked-about online feuds.

Claressa Shields and Laila Ali are going toe to toe…on social media. The two notable female boxers have turned digital timelines into their boxing ring, with Shields throwing the latest jab. This week, the Flint, Michigan, native clapped back at Ali’s 28-minute-long YouTube video which outlined the pattern of shady comments that she claims Shields has made towards her. 

“Laila Ali has been losing the fight against me for a very long time, and we all know when you start losing the fight, you go below the belt. I really did not want to have to respond to this video because I am not into tearing another black woman down,” Shields said in the video. “This is just another example of the older [generation] hating on the youth.” 

While exposing the “lies” Ali reportedly has shared throughout their ongoing feud, Shields goes on to explain how she and the retired boxer originally had a what she described as a big sister/little sister relationship. However, she’s been left questioning the sincerity of that relationship, claiming that Ali gave her bad advice:  “She told me to stay amateur and win as many Olympic gold medals as I can because there was no TV exposure and no money for women’s boxing in the professionals,” Shields explained. “Now I wonder if it was even genuine because she gave me bad advice.” 

Though Shields says the shade and subliminal jabs towards each other started back in 2018 on “Breakfast Club” when Ali said she didn’t think there was anyone in the female boxing world that would give her a real challenge, many believe the two’s beef was reignited by a recent comment Shields made this year. 

“I’m gonna take the high road like Terence Crawford and say she was the best in her era,” Shields said on the “Million Dollaz Worth Of Game,” podcast earlier this month. “Actually, I’m not gonna lie. Ann Wolfe was the best in her era, and I’m the best in this era. Laila Ali is just Muhammad Ali’s daughter. […] She can’t rumble like Ann Wolfe. ‘Who is the best from the era?’ Ann Wolfe would’ve knocked Laila Ali out.” 

This prompted Ali to release her nearly 30-minute-long video “in response to the ongoing lies, harassment, and false narrative” Shields reportedly created. Accusing Shields of using Muhammad and Laila Ali’s names for “clout,” the retired boxer outlined her relationship with Shields through the years. 

“You know what my father would say? She’s a generic wannabe. My father would not want to share his name or image with her. She does not represent anything about him in the ring or outside of the ring,” Ali said in her video. “Now, many of us, including myself, had high hopes for her. I supported her. I sent her off in the right direction, but she has become a disappointment. She is a horrible representation of both the sport and our culture.”

Meanwhile, Shields is accusing Ali of “hating on any woman in combat sports who starts getting more notoriety than her” noting names like Ronda Rousey and pulling up clips of some of Ali’s shady comments. 

“So my message to all the young girls and young boys coming up, never let the people that came before you try to discourage you, put fear into you, and make you not want to chase your dreams,” Shields warned.

“You’ve never seen a mugshot of me. I’ve never been in jail, never tested positive for PEDs, nothing,” Shields concluded. “So my message to all the young girls and young boys coming up, never let the people that came before you try to discourage you, put fear into you, and make you not want to chase your dreams.”