Roomies, it looks like the smoke between Laila Ali and Claressa Shields is far from clearing up. Now, Laila has called Claressa out, saying she’s using her name for clout and attention — even though, Laila says, Claressa has been supporting her for years. And listen, Laila isn’t just talking, she’s stinging like a bee, and coming through with more receipts than the FBI to back it up. She says things went left after Claressa took something she said in a past interview way out of context.
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Laila Ali Drops Receipts On Past Friendship With Claressa Shields While Fans Wonder If They’ll Ever Get In The RIng
For anyone scratching their heads and wondering how Laila Ali and Claressa Shields got here, don’t worry — Laila broke it all down in a series of videos. At this point, she should’ve called it tea time, because the way the facts runneth over. Whew!
Laila shared that she first met Claressa back in 2012, when Claressa got invited onstage to stand beside her as she presented her dad, Muhammad Ali, with his Liberty Medal. From there, Shields kept in touch, even giving Laila a heads-up whenever she had upcoming fights. Laila also mentioned that she interviewed Claressa while hosting CBS’s ‘We Need To Talk,’ an female-led sports commentary show.
But things started going left over the years. Laila dropped clips of past comments Claressa made — including a recent ‘Million Dollaz Worth Of Game’ interview where Claressa called her “just Muhammad Ali’s daughter.” Laila admitted she didn’t expect Claressa to flip on her like this and explained that she thinks Claressa’s been working overtime to discredit her career and throw dirt on her name.
“At the time I was not aware of her divisive, vindictive, malicious nature. I know those are strong words, but they fit! She saw me as the face of women’s boxing, and she told me that she wanted my spot. And she’s been on a mission to ruin my reputation ever since,” Laila said in recently shared Instagram footage.
Ali Calls Out Shields For Clout Chasin’ & Cappin’ Online
So how did things jump from 0 to 100 and hit $15 million for a potential fight? Laila thinks it all started after her 2018 interview on Power 105.1’s ‘The Breakfast Club.’ When the hosts asked if she’d ever step back into the ring against a popping contender at that time, Laila said: “I don’t think there’s anyone there for me right now that would actually give me a good challenge.” However, she did give Claressa her flowers and said she was doing her thing. But Claressa clearly missed that part cause she seemingly took it as shade instead of support. Peep Laila Ali’s full receipt video below.
Will Muhammad Ali’s Daughter & The GWOAT Ever Square Up In The Ring?
Chile, at this point, fans are waiting to see both Laila Ali and Claressa Shields put it all on the floor. But is it going to happen? The jury is still out on that. Claressa hasn’t backed down, though; she’s been taking shots at Laila ever since she said it would take a $15 million bag for them to face off in the ring. Well, back in August, Shields told TMZ that she thinks Laila isn’t applying pressure after she secured the money because Laila’s “scared.”
“I thought that she was about all that talk. She wanted $15 million. I went and got the $15 million. And now it’s all this backpedaling. So, you know, congrats to her on whatever she’s doing. But I’m moving on with my career,” Shields said at the time.
