After proving herself to be arguably the greatest female fighter of all time, Claressa Shields has revealed the two best male fighters that she has sparred with during her decorated career.
Since entering the paid ranks back in 2016 following a stellar amateur career, Shields has captured no less than 18 major world titles across five separate weight classes.
Despite having just 17 professional bouts during her tenure, the 30-year-old from Michigan has held the undisputed world championship at middleweight, super-middleweight and heavyweight, becoming the first fighter in boxing history to achieve this exceptional feat.
Shields remains one of the few female fighters in the sport to have sparred with multiple male fighters during her career, something that she claims has helped her develop her skills over the years.
Speaking to Club Shay Shay, Shields revealed just a number of the male fighters that the has sparred with over the years, before naming Shakur Stevenson and Errol Spence Jr as the two ‘hardest’ males she has shared the ring with in the gym.
“I sparred Errol Spence, Shakur [Stevenson], Boots [Ennis], Keyshawn Davis, yeah I sparred a lot of them … I’ve sparred against a lot of men, I mean I can’t even name everybody … I think out of sparring all of them, the hardest was Shakur and Errol. Cannot hit Shakur, can’t hit him. I don’t know if I was like a step behind this day or what but I could not catch this man.”
Shields was last in action back in June when she outpointed New Zealand’s Lani Daniels to make the first defence of her undisputed heavyweight championship.
The unbeaten 30-year-old is expected to make her return to the ring against Che Kenneally in the first quarter of 2026, with an official announcement set to be made in the coming weeks.
