Claressa Shields vs. Laila Ali: Who’s the Best Feminine Boxer of All Time?
There are names in boxing that transcend belts, rankings, or knockouts. For girls’s boxing, Laila Ali and Claressa Shields are on the forefront. Two dominant athletes from totally different eras, totally different upbringings, and totally different boxing ecosystems—but endlessly linked within the debate over who’s the best of all time (GOAT).
The dialogue reignited, after Terence Crawford, the undisputed males’s welterweight and junior welterweight world champion, boldly said on Membership Shay Shay that Claressa Shields is healthier than Laila Ali.
The web instantly erupted. Some praised the objectivity—others referred to as it disrespectful to a girl who retired undefeated and introduced visibility to girls’s boxing earlier than it was even televised repeatedly.
However what makes somebody “the best”? Is it dominance? Longevity? Cultural relevance? Or is it how they modified the sport? Let’s unpack the total context—from titles and opponents to obstacles and eras—to discover a clearer reply.
Claressa Shields: Flint’s “GWOAT” Constructed on Olympic Gold and Historical past
Claressa Shields doesn’t simply win fights—she wins them in opposition to top-tier opposition throughout a number of weight lessons, typically with barely a spherical misplaced. Born and raised in Flint, Michigan, Shields’ journey started in poverty and private trauma. Deserted by her mom and sexually abused as a toddler, Shields turned to boxing at age 11 and located one thing she may management: her fists, her future, her fireplace.
Earlier than she even turned professional, Shields had already made historical past. She turned the primary American boxer—male or feminine—to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio). Her beginner file was a dominant 77-1, along with her solely loss coming in her earliest days within the sport.
When Shields turned skilled in 2016, many doubted whether or not girls’s boxing had the infrastructure to help a breakout star. She proved everybody fallacious.
A Report-Breaking Profession within the Professional Ranks
As of 2025, Shields holds knowledgeable file of 16-0, and the record of her achievements retains rising:
- First boxer in historical past (man or girl) to turn out to be undisputed champion in three weight divisions: mild middleweight (154 lbs), middleweight (160 lbs), and now heavyweight (200+ lbs).
- Solely boxer to unify the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles a number of occasions.
- Beat beforehand undefeated champions like Christina Hammer, Savannah Marshall, and most not too long ago, Danielle Perkins to turn out to be the undisputed heavyweight champion—a title few predicted she’d even chase.
Her dominance isn’t questioned. Shields hardly ever loses rounds, and her pace, ring IQ, and protection have drawn comparisons to male greats like Andre Ward and Floyd Mayweather.
Shields’ Cultural Influence
Nicknamed the “GWOAT” (Best Lady of All Time), Shields doesn’t simply shine within the ring—she’s been vocal about inequality, pay disparities, and the shortage of promotion in girls’s boxing.
She’s additionally dipped into MMA—successful fights within the PFL (Skilled Fighters League)—and starred within the documentary T-Rex, adopted by a characteristic movie The Hearth Inside about her childhood trauma and rise to glory. At solely 30 years previous, Shields nonetheless has time to additional cement her legacy—and she or he’s exhibiting no indicators of slowing down.
Laila Ali: Undefeated Royalty and Boxing’s Gateway Star
Earlier than Claressa Shields got here alongside, the largest title in girls’s boxing was Laila Ali—and for good purpose.
The daughter of Muhammad Ali, she had huge sneakers to fill. But she carved out a lane of her personal, going 24-0 with 21 knockouts, retiring undefeated in 2007.
A Knockout Artist with Star Energy
Ali made her professional debut in 1999 at a time when girls’s boxing was barely seen to mainstream followers. No Olympic slots, no prime-time networks or No pay-per-view stars. Nonetheless, Ali turned a family title, headlining playing cards and drawing superstar consideration. Her preventing type was aggressive and calculated. She had energy in each fingers and fought with the sort of charisma hardly ever seen in boxing—male or feminine.
Key achievements embody:
- WBC, WIBA, IWBF, and IBA tremendous middleweight world titles
- IWBF mild heavyweight world title
- Wins over Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, daughter of Joe Frazier, in a hyped “Ali vs. Frazier” rematch of kinds.
- A peak the place she was essentially the most acknowledged feminine boxer on Earth
The GOAT Verdict: Ability vs. Symbolism
If we’re basing the title of “best” on pure boxing talent, accomplishments, and competitors, Claressa Shields edges forward. She’s performed issues no girl—or man—has ever performed, in a number of eras and codecs.
But when we’re speaking symbolism, trailblazing, and cultural significance, Laila Ali’s contributions can’t be ignored. She made girls’s boxing seen at a time when it was almost invisible. Her undefeated file, star energy, and refusal to dwell in her father’s shadow all communicate to a greatness of a distinct type.
In the end, the GOAT debate isn’t about tearing one girl all the way down to elevate the opposite up. It’s about appreciating two legends who fought totally different battles—one for acceptance, the opposite for dominance—and each received.
A Brief However Impactful Profession
Ali retired in her prime at 29 years previous. Critics typically level to the shortage of top-tier competitors in her period. Ladies’s boxing wasn’t globally structured then, and few fighters had entry to severe coaching or world publicity. Nonetheless, you may solely beat who’s in entrance of you—and Ali beat all of them, convincingly.
Whereas she by no means competed within the Olympics (girls weren’t allowed till 2012), her affect introduced new eyes to the game and arguably paved the way in which for its Olympic inclusion.
Life After the Ring
Ali has remained a strong voice post-boxing—publishing books, launching wellness manufacturers, and talking on girls’s empowerment. She’s hosted exhibits on OWN, appeared on Dancing With the Stars, and continues to honor her father’s legacy whereas constructing her personal.
Shields vs. Ali: Facet-by-Facet Profession Comparability
| Class | Claressa Shields | Laila Ali |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Report | 16-0 | 24-0 |
| Knockouts | 2 | 21 |
| Undisputed Titles | 3 weight lessons | 0 |
| Olympic Golds | 2 | 0 |
| Degree of Opposition | A number of top-ranked champions | Restricted because of period |
| Period | 2016–current (totally sanctioned, Olympic, televised period) | 1999–2007 (pre-Olympics, low visibility) |
| Cultural Influence | “GWOAT” advocate, media voice, movie star | Pioneered visibility, legacy voice, model mogul |
Last Phrase: Why This Debate Issues
The Shields vs. Ali debate is larger than boxing. It’s a mirrored image of how girls’s sports activities have developed—from underground fights to Olympic gold, from area of interest viewership to prime-time playing cards. With out Laila Ali, there might not have been the momentum to incorporate girls’s boxing within the Olympics. With out Claressa Shields, the concept of girls headlining boxing playing cards on Showtime and ESPN might have remained fiction.
Collectively, they symbolize a lineage of greatness. And if the game continues to develop, it’s solely a matter of time earlier than a 3rd title enters this debate. However for now, the ring belongs to Shields and Ali—two queens of the squared circle.
