From Olympic Trials to £6m Deal: Claressa Shields Full-Circle Moment as the GWOAT Defends Undisputed Heavyweight Crown

Olympic Trials to £6m Deal – How Claressa Shields Turned Teenage Promise into a Full-Circle Moment

Six months before the London 2012 Olympics, a 16-year-old Claressa Shields walked into the US Olympic trials with little more than raw belief and a fearless streak that would soon define her career.

On paper, she was not supposed to win.

Across the ring stood Franchon Crews-Dezurn, the reigning national champion, eight years older and widely regarded as the best in the country. Shields was ranked seventh. Fate, or perhaps destiny, intervened in the draw. Lower-ranked fighters had to pick a numbered ball to determine their opponent.

Shields pulled out number one.

It was the first chapter in a rivalry that has stretched across more than a decade and now circles back in remarkable fashion. This weekend, Shields defends her undisputed heavyweight title against Crews-Dezurn once more — but this time, the stakes stretch far beyond medals and bragging rights.

This fight marks the opening bout of a staggering $8 million (£6.1m) multi-fight deal, complete with a $3 million (£2.2m) signing bonus — figures rarely seen in women’s boxing, and scarcely heard of even in the men’s game.

For Shields, it feels like everything has come full circle.

Claressa Shields and the Olympic Trials That Sparked a Dynasty

That first victory over Crews-Dezurn at the Olympic trials did more than secure a place on the team. It announced Shields as a generational talent.

Months later, she captured gold at the London Games, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic boxing title. She would defeat Crews-Dezurn twice more in the amateur ranks, reinforcing the pecking order.

When both women turned professional in 2016, the rivalry resumed immediately. Shields won again. Four meetings, four victories. And yet, the story refuses to end.

“Me and Franchon have always said that for some reason we are always intertwined in each other’s lives,” Shields reflected recently. It is the kind of line that sounds scripted, but in this case, reality has written the screenplay.

Now 30 years old, Shields enters their fifth encounter not as a hopeful teenager, but as the undisputed heavyweight champion and self-proclaimed GWOAT — the Greatest Woman of All Time.

And unlike that teenage version of herself, she enters with financial muscle to match her legacy.

The £6m Deal Changing Women’s Boxing

When Shields signed her landmark agreement with Wynn Records and Salita Promotions last November, it sent ripples through the sport.

An $8 million deal, including a $3 million signing bonus, is not just a personal milestone — it is a statement about the commercial growth of women’s boxing.

“I’ve never heard of a man getting a $3m signing bonus for a boxing contract,” Shields said candidly. “I’ve heard of $1m, but never $3m.”

She laughs when she mentions wanting to ask artificial intelligence whether any male fighter has ever received such terms. But behind the humour lies a serious point. For years, Shields felt undercompensated relative to her achievements.

When she turned professional after winning two Olympic gold medals — adding Rio 2016 to her London triumph — the financial rewards did not match the magnitude of her success.

“In hindsight, I should have received a $1m signing bonus right after the Olympics,” she admitted. “That didn’t happen. But now, years later, I’m getting it all back.”

There is a sense of vindication in her tone. Shields has spent her career demanding respect — in rankings, in purses, in recognition. This deal feels like overdue acknowledgement.

A Relentless Climb Through the Divisions

Shields’ résumé reads like fiction.

She won her first world title in just her fourth professional bout, claiming unified super-middleweight honours. That achievement alone would define many careers. For Shields, it was merely the beginning.

Fourteen consecutive world title fights followed. Across five weight divisions, she has collected belts with ruthless efficiency. She has become undisputed champion in three separate weight classes — a feat that cements her standing among the sport’s elite, male or female.

Her professional record stands unblemished at 17-0. The only defeat on her ledger since adolescence came in the amateurs against Britain’s Savannah Marshall in 2012 — a loss she avenged decisively in 2022 in front of a sold-out London crowd.

And yet, for all the accolades, Shields remains unsatisfied.

Knockouts, Greatness and the Pursuit of More

If there is one lingering critique of Shields’ dominance, it concerns her knockout ratio. She has often controlled fights with technical precision, outclassing opponents round after round without necessarily delivering the finishing blow.

That, she says, is the next frontier.

“I want to get my skillset and body to the position where I can go the extra mile and get the knockout after I’ve dominated for five or six rounds,” she explained.

It is not ego driving her, but curiosity.

“How great can I be?” she asks. “When it’s all over, you don’t get your youth back.”

At 30, soon to be 31, Shields insists she has plenty left. She plans to box until 38. The ambition is undimmed. The hunger, perhaps, sharper than ever.

Price, Mayer and the Weight-Class Debate

With success comes challengers.

Unified welterweight champion Lauren Price and WBO titlist Mikaela Mayer have both expressed interest in facing Shields. Social media amplifies these call-outs, creating buzz and debate.

Price, an Olympic gold medallist at middleweight, has suggested Shields drop down from heavyweight to make the fight happen. That would require Shields to shed five divisions — a proposal she dismisses swiftly.

“If they want to prove their greatness, and I’m willing to give them that chance, then it’s 163lb or 165lb,” Shields stated. “I don’t have to prove anything.”

Her argument carries historical weight. Both she and Price won Olympic gold at 75kg. Mayer has competed at light-middleweight. In Shields’ view, the burden should not fall solely on her.

She points to Terence Crawford’s willingness to move up in weight to chase legacy fights as evidence that ambition should not be selective.

There is also frustration. When Shields ruled the 154lb, 160lb and 168lb divisions, she struggled to secure marquee opponents.

“Where were you all when I was undisputed at 160lb twice?” she asked pointedly. “I had to beg for fights.”

Now that she campaigns at 175lb, the calls are louder.

The Full-Circle Moment

Saturday’s clash with Crews-Dezurn encapsulates everything about Shields’ journey — from Olympic trials to global headliner, from teenage prodigy to multimillion-dollar champion.

The girl who once pulled out the number one ball now stands at the top of the sport, commanding record-breaking contracts and dictating terms.

This is more than another title defence. It is a reminder of how far women’s boxing has come — and how central Shields has been to that evolution.

A £6m deal does not guarantee immortality. But combined with Olympic gold, undisputed crowns and an unshakeable belief in her own greatness, it reinforces a simple truth:

Claressa Shields has not merely participated in boxing history.

She has shaped it.