People either love Shields’ many achievements or find reasons to criticize Flint’s three-division world champion boxer.
After losing her second MMA fight Wednesday night, Shields is now facing a lot of criticism. Abigail Montes from Mexico won the three-round bout. She took Shields to the mat in the final round and unleashed a torrent of punches in 30 seconds.
Shields was a two-time Olympic gold medalist in boxing and was only the second MMA bout. She is arguably the most talented female to put on gloves.
It was not surprising that Shields’ loss received a quick, sometimes harsh reaction on social media. However, she received plenty of support and encouragement. Jake Paul, a YouTube star and pro fighter Shields has criticised in the past, was perhaps the most critical.
Paul, who holds a record of 4-0, called Shields a “loser” with a “prima dona attitude”. He wrote on Twitter, “The fake always get exposed…she’s never been big draw and unfortunately she will never be a big draw,” just minutes after the bout with Montes ended.
Here are some reactions to the Shields-Montes fight.
Savannah Marshall, pro boxer who gave Shields her only loss in boxing when they were both amateurs.
Marshall, who may face Shields next year, said that Marshall needed to get on top of it. She can’t just sit in a darkened room crying. For December 11, she needs to get on top of it. It has been a while since she last lost. It’s more of a kick in the backside that it is. I hope it gets her back on track.
Chris Cyborg, MMA Grand Slam champion said on Twitter, “Keep your head high @ClaressaShields, I love how young you are and that you don’t fear to challenge yourself. Your ability to inspire a whole generation of women not to be afraid of greatness makes you so powerful.
“The self-proclaimed female goat boxer got to work hard to defeat Abigail Montes, a relative unknown. Learning grappling takes a year. She should have fought at close range to increase her skillset. But she let herself get pulled into a grappling match.
Adam Martin, MMA writer/broadcast presenter who spells Shields incorrectly on Twitter
“Clarissa Shields is being completely exposed by a mostly unknown fighter who no one knew of before the fight was announced. Shields was awarded the win by a joke judge. Imagine yourself calling yourself the “Greatest Woman in All Time” and being outgrappled at the feet by Abigail Montes. Abigail Montes won the fight with her late double leg takedown, ground and pound. She will win the fight 29-28, and the Clarissa Shields hype train will be thrown off the tracks!”
Mark Taffet is Shields’ manager, and a former head of HBO’s pay per view boxing division. Follow him on Twitter:
“I am so proud of @Claressashields. We are in a 2yr MMA lab; our practice takes place on ESPN rather than at a gym. Claressa made great improvements tonight and will do even better in the next @PFLMMA bout. We are in it for the long-term!”
Follow Andre Ward on Twitter, ex-world boxing champion
“Hold ya head Sis @Claressashields”
The outspoken Shields issued a statement congratulating Montes, 21, who is now 3-0 in her short MMA career. Shields had only one MMA fight with Montes since signing a two-year contract late last year with the Professional Fighters League.
After the split decision was made, Shields, who is now 11-0-0 and has two knockouts as a professional boxer, hugged Montes in the ring. The fight was scored by all three judges at 29-28, with Montes winning two of them.
Shields wrote, “Just like I am gracious when I win, I will also be gracious when I lose.” “I thought it was close. I’m learning on the job, and am grateful for the opportunity. Thank you to @pflmma, my coaches… and all my fans. GWOAT out
GWOAT stands for Greatest Woman Of All-Time. Shields was given the nickname Shields because of her boxing success.
Shields will be back in boxing on Dec. 11, to defend her middleweight title against Ema Kozin of England (21-0-1; 11 KOs). A win could mean a fight with Marshall next spring.
Shields stated to ESPN that after the Kozin fight, she will return to the Jackson Wink Academy of New Mexico to continue her MMA training.
Shields stated to ESPN that he continues to play more ground and train more. He is also committed to improving his skills. “I still have two years to go so it’s not over,” Shields said to ESPN.
Shields became involved in Twitter wars with some people who were criticizing her, before making her Twitter account public. She asked why she wasn’t given a cut of the profits made by gaming services for people who bet on her fights. This added to the criticism she was getting.
