Claressa Shields has indicated that a future bout with Mikaela Mayer is a possibility as she works towards achieving her ambition of retiring with an undefeated record.
The multi-weight world champion has been in discussions for a middleweight clash against Britain's Lauren Price, who is also an Olympic gold medallist. However, if the fight with Price does not materialize, Shields stated her interest in facing Mayer.
Mayer is currently preparing for a super-welterweight world title unification bout against Chantelle Cameron. Shields commented, "Anything is possible. I came down [in weight] specifically to fight against Kaye Scott and then hopefully have a big showdown with Olympic champions, me and Lauren Price. If the fight with Lauren Price can't happen, I would love to get in the ring with Mikaela Mayer."
Shields elaborated on her confidence in facing Mayer, stating, "I know that she came from a smaller weight class and now she's at 154lbs, but my skills are still better than hers. I'm still faster than her. We have the same experience but I have better experience. I've been to the Olympic gold medal match twice, she hasn't. I beat everybody. It doesn't matter the name that you put. Claressa versus whoever, I beat them."
Mayer, while focused on Cameron, acknowledged that fights against both Shields and Price remain on her radar. She expressed, "Obviously, I would love to get the fight with Lauren Price. Claressa Shields and I have spoken about potentially fighting at 160lbs which I would love to do. In a perfect world, I would get all three of those fights back-to-back and sail away into the sunset."
Shields recently secured her third middleweight world championship by defeating Kaye Scott, extending her professional record to 19 wins without a loss. Inspired by Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s undefeated career, Shields aims to maintain her perfect record.
"I had the biggest names there. I sold the arena out. It was insane," Shields said. "I put on a great performance. I've been building my career to this point, so I'm happy. I believe that I can retire undefeated, that's my goal. I don't know if I'll ever get 50 fights, but 30 is good for me."
