Classera Shields Shields and Amanda Nunes: Two Women That Changed A “Man's Sport”

 Classera Shields Shields and Amanda Nunes: Two Women That Changed A “Man's Sport” 

During the weekend we got to see two all time fighters do what they do best in their respective disciplines. On Friday night we got to see women’s boxer Claressa Shields at 25 years old put on another clinic to improve her unbeaten record to 11-0 on her young career. On Saturday night the UFC hosted UFC 259 where the Lioness Amanda Nunes defended one of her two UFC world championships quickly and in a hurry that could have sparked a very interesting conversation. These two women have shown nothing but excellence since gaining the spotlight in their sports. During March which would actually just so happened to be Women’s History Month. We must honor these women. Their marks on their respective sports are ones for the history books. 

Classera Shields: Already A Boxing Great 

Classera Shields has been one of the most dominant boxers in the world for nearly a decade. She continued dominance last Friday night March 5th, 2021 when Shields retained her WBC and WBO female light middleweight titles. Then put a cherry on top by winning the IBF, vacant WBA (Super), and The Ring female Light Middleweight Championships. Improving her record to a professional to an impressive 11-0. That's thirteen wins away from her inspiration Laila Ali who ended her career at 24-0. Shields hasn’t had an easy life at all. Her dad isn’t a famous boxer and she isn’t from easy beginnings. Shields got whatever she has from the dirt making what she has done in boxing so much more impressive. 

Classera Shields was a fighter from the beginning and wasn’t going to let anyone stop her from her dreams. Shields was born in Flint, Michigan. Her dad went to prison when Shields was only two. Her father Bo Shields was locked up until Shields turned nine. When released Bo Shields started showing his daughter a sport he loved boxing. Shields was an underground fighter but nothing special. He would show her clips and talk to her about the great Laila Ali who was taking over boxing as a women at the time. However Classera Shields father did still believe boxing was a mans sport so he didn’t throw his daughter right into the fighting scene at nine. It only took two years for Shields father to let her box at Berston Field House in her home city of Flint, Michigan. That’s where she met her coach Jason Crutchfield. One women that inspired Classera Shields to box so young was her grandmother. Her grandmother, according to Shields, told her to not let other people’s opinions on a women’s boxer affect her decision to pursue something she loves. We thank grandma Shields because she gave the best advice. Maybe without that advice we never get to see the great talent that is Casseria Shields. 

Classera Shields took on the odds of being a women boxer, threw all those opinions to the side, and proved the doubters wrong very young. Growing up in the low income area of Flint Shields had to be tough. Trust me no man or woman was going to go bully this teenage girl. Shields coaches recognized she had great talent early. She began her career fighting local boxing events but then fought quickly to amateur world titles. At 15 she won the Junior Olympic championship. Then right after decided to sign up for her first ever World Championships that would involve her first open weight tournament.  She would go on to win the middleweight title. She was named a top five overall fighter qualifying her for the Olympics Trails. Shields only at 15 was able to do great things. Shields beat a national champion and world champion on her way to win the Middleweight class at the Olympic Trials. To end the year she won her weight class at the Women's Elite Continental Championships in Cornwall, Ontario against a 25-0 three time world champion. Of course Shields had to do more to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. According to initial reports she only had to get a top 8 finish at 2012 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in China to qualify for the Olympics. However boxing being boxing the commission decided the day of the contest Shields had to finish top 2 to qualify now.  Shields won her first fight but suffered a loss leaving her having to depend on a few upsets to actually get into the Olympics. Shield was 26-1 very dominant beat boxer that qualified for the Olympics but since the corrupt boxing systems decided to make it harder for her she could miss out. She got the upsets she needed which put her in the 2012 Olympics. Shield did not disappoint in the Olympics. Putting on great performance after great performance. Resulting in her winning the Gold Medal in the women’s middleweight division after beating Nadezhda Torlopova. She overcame the boxing commission, multiple world championships, and all the doubters to bring home the gold. Then she goes back two years later in 2014 to go to win the Gold Medal at the World Championships. Hold up you thought she was finished? Shields would go on to be the first American to win titles in women's boxing at the Olympics and Pan American Games. Remind you she is only 18 years young at this point. 2016 was much different than 2012 Shields wasn’t going to let the boxing commission even think about robbing her of what she deserves. In 2016 Shields won the AMBC Olympic Qualifying tournament in Argentina. Then later that same year won another Olympic Gold Medal at the Rio Olympics. Writing her name in the history book as the only gold medalist from the American team and was awarded the inaugural women's division of the Val Barker Trophy at the competition. Mans sport or not it doesn’t matter Shields became the first ever boxer in American history male or female to win back to back gold medals at the Olympics. She ended her amateur career with 77 wins with 19 of them coming by knockout. Shields entered a “man's sport” very young. She also was able to dominate that “man's sport” doing something that no male or female has ever done. The crazy thing about it is she’s just getting started. 

In her pro career the rich just keep getting richer. She won her professional debut in 2016 by the way of decision. In just her second fight she would go on to win the vacant NABF Middleweight championship by a knockout in just the fourth round. Shields was now a professional world champion at just 20 years old. In her next fight she decided to move up a weight class and challenge for the WBC Silver Super Middleweight championship. Shields beats up Sydney LeBlanc to secure the title. At just 3-0 Shields now holds two different championships in two different weight classes. It seems that no one could stop Shields. Which was the case. In 2017 the WBC and IBF decided they were going to make super middleweight women’s titles. Shields would be one of the fighters chosen to fight for the belts considering she held the other two middleweight belts. She would go on to beat Nikki Alder by knockout who was 16-0 at the time of their encounter. Unbeaten no more. Classera Shields become the first WBC and inaugural IBF Super Middleweights championships. Her next bout she was up to grab another title but had to defend her WBC and IBF championships. Her opponent was unbeaten at the time. That doesn’t seem to ever matter to Shields. She remains unbeaten once again winning the WBAN lineal Super Middleweight title. That was the first time in Shields career she went all ten rounds. Proving she was ready for an absolute war or a marathon. Shields has the guts for any fight. In her six professional fights Shields would fight Hanna Gabriel. Where she would stay perfect while winning the vacant WBA and inaugural IBF Middleweight Championships. The win put Shields in the record books again. She broke the record for becoming a two-weight world champion in the fewest professional fights. Shields would defend her belt actually on the last HBO card ever. Just some more history for you. In April of 2019 Shields looked to pull off history once again with her fight against Christina Hammer. She looked to become the undisputed world champion by unifying the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO Middleweight titles, along with The Ring magazine's inaugural middleweight belt. That’s exactly what she did in the fight. Almost pitching a shutout. She won 98-91 on two judges' score cards by winning 98-92 on the thirds. Nonetheless Shields dominance couldn’t go unrecognized. She is a dominant champion. Remember she only fights the best every fight because of the title she holds. You wouldn’t even know she makes it look easy. On January 10th, 2020 Shields looked for more history in a fight with Ivana Habazin. It was actually the first time we ever saw a full female ring in a main event for boxing. The referee was a woman making everyone inside the ring a woman. That was not the only history that would take place. After almost winning every round on the scorecards Shields would become the fastest ever to win titles in 3 divisions male or female in history. This woman is doing not just something no woman has done but no men either. Boxing isn’t just a “man's sport” anymore. Which would lead us to Friday night. We saw more dominance on Friday. Shields beat Marie-Eve Dicaire by unanimous decision retaining her WBC and WBO super welterweight titles, taking claim to the IBF 154-pound belt, and vacant WBA light middleweight strap. It doesn’t matter the weight for Shields she will whip up anyone, anytime, anywhere, at any weight. The win Friday night improved Shields to 11-0. The win also made history as she became the first world champion boxer in the four-belt era to hold undisputed titles in two different weight divisions. The record books are getting full with the Classeria Shields name. Shields during her time thus far in fighting has been recognized for other great achievements as well. In 2017 Shields won the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for "Biggest Powerhouse." At 22 years old in 2018, Shields was inducted into the USA Boxing Alumni Association's Hall of Fame. Shields was also Female Fighter of the Year in 2018. Not too shabby for a woman in a “man's sport.” 

Shields is a champion in boxing but is the women’s champion. After not being able to start a sport younger because it was considered a man's sport that didn’t stop a young Shields. She took her grandma's advice and didn’t let the odds define her. She would get to train. She would n't care about the doubters. Or the ignorant people that thought it was odd for a female wanting to fight. She’s a fighter down to her core. Accomplishing feats in fighting that no man or women has done. While also fighting for women’s equality in her community. Shields is a great champion, a great fighter, and a great person. Her accomplishments should be acknowledged much more than they are. It’s a pleasure to be able to see her growth in the sport. During women’s history month we will recognize it, because she’s a big part of boxing history. She’s an inspiration to all young women that want to fight. That you don’t need to have the greatest male boxer all time as a father to be great. You don’t have to be from a rich family to get training. You have to be tough and most importantly you have to believe in yourself. That’s what Classera Shields has done for women and the world. She is an inspiration. She has helped grow the sport of fighting. We can only say thank you to Classera Shields. 

Amanda Nunes: Maybe The Greatest Fighter To Do It? 

Another fighter you have to acknowledge when talking about female fighting is Amanda Nunes. The best female fighter of all time and maybe the best fighter we’ve ever seen do it. At UFC 259 last Saturday we were reminded once again what greatness looks like. Nunes defended her UFC Featherweight Championship against Megan Anderson on Saturday. She made it look easy once again. She knocked Anderson to her butt early in the first round. When she had her stunned she locked up a triangle arm bar for the first round submission victory. Improving her to 21-4. However putting her in the conversation of maybe the greatest fighter we’ve ever seen. 

Amanda Nunes just like Shields didn’t come from an easy start. She came from humble beginnings. Nunes was the youngest of three sisters in a small town outside of the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Nunes was raised by her single mother. She started fighting much younger than Shields. At the age of four she started training karate. At sixteen she trained boxing and was also invited to do dojo with her sister who trained in the sport. She would move to the United States. She would train at AMA Fight club in New Jersey at first. Then Nunes would move to Miami where she began training at MMA Masters. Nunes dominated on the amartur scene in MMA. Lucky for her MMA isn’t as big as boxing especially among women so to become professional you only have to embarrass a couple of times to go pro. She didn’t do that in her first professional fight. Nunes faced Ana Maria and was defeated by armbar submission in the first round. Nunes wouldn’t take that first loss lightly. She trained hard which resulted in a five fight winning streak. Earning her first major MMA professional contract with Strikeforce. Nunes came into her debut at Strikeforce on a five winning streak with all those wins coming by knockout. More of the same story here she knocked Julia Budd in just fourteen seconds. Nunes would be humbled however in her next bout against Alexis Davis. Nunes started going for the knockout early. Tiring herself out going into the second. Being so tired she dove at Davis' legs where Davis would stuff the takedown, and mount Nunes. Ending the fight by TKO in the second. Nunes would leave Strikeforce after the loss to Nunes. Being a free agent after a loss usually isn’t easy. However you can’t deny the talent Nunes has which Invicta FC didn’t they would go on the sign Nunes. In her first fight at the promotion Nunes opponent couldn’t find due to illness, then the replacement couldn’t fight due injury as well. She would get a final opponent that would show up. Nunes would fight Raquel Pa'aluhi. Nunes made it quick, tapping out Raquel Pa'aluhi in the first round. Nunes would lose her next fight but still earn a UFC contract for the new UFC Women’s Bantamweight division. She would make her UFC octagon debut in August of 2013. Where she did what she does best and knocked out her opponent in the first round. She would go 3-1 in her next four bouts in the UFC. Beating names such as Germaine de Randamie and Sara McMann. What was so impressive about those wins is de Randamie is a kickboxer who knocked her out. McMann is a wrestler she submitted to. Nunes fights anywhere she’s an all around fighter. Going 3-1 set her up for a number contender fight with future UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko. Nunes would win by decision earning her a number one contender shot. At UFC 200 she would fight Miesha Tate for the UFC Bantamweight Championship. Nunes wasn’t looked as the favorite in the fight at all. Not many fight fans even knew Nunes was really. She just knew she was challenging for the belt on one of the biggest UFC cards ever. She wasn’t supposed to win really. Nunes silenced the doubters quickly. Nunes put on a clinic on the feet in the first round stunningTate early on with knees and punches. When Tate hit the floor it was all over Nunes locked up a rear naked choke leading to a Tate tap. Nunes was now the Women’s Featherweight Champion of the world. She also became the first openly gay champion in UFC history. In her first title defense Nunes would get a pay day as her international superstar Ronda Rousey would come back to challenge Nunes for her former belt. Nunes let Rousey and the world know early that was her belt. Rocking Rousey early. Finishing her standing in just 48 seconds. People didn't really know about Nunes two fights ago now people will remember her name. Nunes then was scheduled to fight Shevchenko once again in July of 2017. However, Nunes was hospitalized the morning of the fight with chronic sinusitis and the fight was cancelled. The fight would still happen at UFC 215 in September. The fight was way closer than the first fight which is saying something. Nunes would win by split decision. The fight was so close 22 MMA media outlets released their scorecards: 10 scored it for Nunes, 10 for Shevchenko, and 2 scored it a draw. That’s how close it was however a win is a win. At UFC 224 Nunes would defend her belt against Raquel Pennington. She would dominate this fight as well. She would win all four rounds leading to her ground and king TKO victory. This was the first event in UFC history to be headlined by two openly gay fighters. Which would set up the Women’s Goat MMA Fight between the UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes the UFC Bantamweight Champion. Cyborg was a women many ducked for years. The UFC couldn’t sign her because she was a 145 when all they had was 135 and 125 pound weight classes. Many believed she was the women’s greatest fighter. Knockout anyone she fought. Cyborg was a wrecking ball. Many had Cyborg winning to officially establish her as the goat. That party would be put on hold. Nunes would knock out Cyborg in just 51 seconds becoming the Women’s Featherweight champion. Officially making her the double champ. This made her the first woman in UFC history to hold championship belts in different divisions simultaneously. Also being the third fighter ever to accomplish the task. Nunes would return to Bantamweight to defend her championship against Holly Holm. The former world champion kickboxer. Nunes made quick work of her as well with a head kick knockout in the first round. At UFC 245 Germaine de Randamie would challenge the champion once again. Nunes made it a grappling contest being a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu she made it look easy against the kickboxer in all five rounds pulling out a decision win. This win meant Nunes had the most wins in women’s title fights in the UFC, with seven such wins. She would defend her belt against Felicia Spencer at UFC 250 winning by decision. That would bring where we are today after defending her belt for the second time in dominant fashion against Megan Anderson Saturday night. 

What a run Nunes has had. In Nunes' time of fighting she has some incredible accolades. She is the current UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion with five title defenses under her belt. She is the current UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion with two title defenses. Nunes became the first woman in UFC history to win two titles( Bantamweight and Featherweight) and to also hold them simultaneously. She is the first fighter in UFC history to defend titles in two divisions while holding both titles at the same time. She is the longest reigning UFC champion currently holding at 2053 days. She has the most wins in UFC history amongst women at 14. Her nine title fights are also the best among women. She has the most consecutive wins against women with 12. She leads basically every women’s MMA fighting record. She is the goat. Even amongst men Nunes is a goat. Nunes is the six multi UFC champion. She currently has the second longest active winning streak with 12. She’s one of four fighters to ever hold two belts at the same time. Is Nunes the goat? 

Nunes was never supposed to be what she is. She wasn’t supposed to be the greatest women’s fighter we’ve ever seen. She wasn’t supposed to be the one to knockout Rousey, Holms, and Cyborg. She wasn’t supposed to be the one to give Valentina Shevchenko her only two losses. She wasn’t supposed to clear out both of the divisions she defends. Nunes was never supposed to be this but she made herself what she is. She was once just a small girl in a small town in the jungle of Brazil. Now she’s an international superstar with respect from everyone in the fighting community. Being the first openly game champion is an accomplishment in itself. How dominant she has been nothing short of an inspiration. Nunes is one the greatest fighters to ever do it, not just the greatest women fighter ever. 

Thank You Ladies 

These two women are history. They are walking history.  What they were able to accomplish thus far would be considered a whole career for most. They are still doing their disciplines at a high level. Both are unquestionably two of the greatest fighters we have seen. How they did it should be an inspiration to all women or anyone really. They entered two sports that were considered “mans sports'' when they first joined, and changed how people saw it. They didn’t come from easy beginnings. However they worked hard until they got what they wanted, and continue to work hard. On this National Women’s Day we are supposed to honor the great women in our life. We are honored in the sporting world to be able to call Classera Shields and Amanda Nunes one of your own. Thank you ladies. 

By Matthew Doherty