Claressa Shields doesn’t have any doubts about her chances to defeat Jake Paul in a fight. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and holder of all four major boxing titles (WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO) across two weight divisions simultaneously once again has expressed she is sure she can beat the Youtuber-turned-boxer in a new interview with USA TODAY Sports.
“I don’t know if it’s something that can happen, but I know that I can whip Jake Paul’s (expletive) and people who are against that are just sexist and they don’t know boxing,” Shields, the most decorated female boxer in history, told the outlet.
“It’s very strange to me that they think that a YouTuber can beat a woman boxer who has two Olympic gold medals, (multiple) world titles and fought as a heavyweight […] He does not have the experience. They talk about power. You can have power, but you got to have the skills to land a punch,” she added.
At 29, Shields boasts a flawless 15-0 professional record with three knockouts. Meanwhile, Paul, 27, is 11-1 with seven knockouts and has fought mostly as a cruiserweight, which has a 200-pound maximum at weigh-in. Despite the fact that Paul is coming from a victory over Mike Tyson, Shields believes he “has not gotten better with his skills.”
She added, “He needs to train harder and better. And honestly, I think the girl that I’m getting ready to fight against, Danielle Perkins, can beat Jake Paul, too.” This is not the first time that Shields says she can beat Paul, as she made similar remarks back in December.
How did the feud between Jake Paul and Claressa Shield start?
The animosity between Shields and Paul began when Paul referred to Shields as a “loser” following her split-decision loss in her MMA debut. Shields responded: “You can’t call me a loser because you don’t box better than me. And you definitely don’t do MMA better than me. You don’t do anything better than me.”
Since then, the two have traded jabs. For example, Paul picked Savannah Marshall over her in their 2022 bout, something that didn’t sit right with Shields. In the same interview with USA Today, she revealed that Paul tried to apologize to her but she was clear: “But f*** that apology. Fight me.”
While it’s very unlikely that Shields and Paul make it to the ring, her constant instigation will still make headlines. For now, Paul hasn’t responded to the latest dig, but, if things continue this way, there will be another occasion.
