Shields Claims Glove Tampering By Male Boxer After Sparring Clip Shows Him Dropping Her
Claressa Shields has reacted to a leaked clip showing that she had been dropped in a sparring session with a male boxer.
The clip in question refers to a sparring session she had with Arturs Ahmetovs in 2018. In the clip below, we see that Shields is countered with a powerful left hook, which sends her crashing to the canvas. The footage went viral, with Shields being forced to respond.
The undisputed middleweight champion accused Ahmetovs and his coach, Derik Santos, of using gloves with no padding inside. Shields claims his underhand tactic came after she won an earlier sparring session with Ahmetovs.
Shields Reacts
“I have no problem getting caught in sparring. It happens. I spar the majority of Men! But this dude Arthur and his coach Derrick Santos were embarrassed [when we sparred earlier in the week]. The next time we sparred, he purposely wore gloves with no little to no padding.
“I can’t make this up. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never been KO’d in seventeen years, and I’ve been dropped twice [by Ahmetovs] all in a week of each other. I have no shame in that. But for a male fighter to literally take the padding out his gloves, he’s a punk. Him and coach Derik Santos are bad for the sport,” Shields said
Nevertheless, the footage has to be considered in light of the following. It is ultimately a short clip from a sparring session, making it impossible to know who got the better of each other. In addition, since sparring sessions are usually not leaked, the fact that it has been posted after five years does leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
Meanwhile, Shields has made a serious allegation. Claiming that a boxer had tampered with their gloves is grounds for potential legal action if proven false. Deontay Wilder had similarly accused Tyson Fury of tampering with his gloves despite no evidence being found by the boxing authorities. This caused Ahmetov’s coach to respond with the following comments.
Ahmetovs’ Coach On Shields
“No one took padding out of the gloves. After she was accusing of this, the gloves were handed to her coach. But more importantly she sparred 2 rounds prior where […] artur was instructed not to hit her hard, while he was working with her she started talking mad s*** at him and fouling him to [the] point she tripped him.
“In the break he said what […] is going on here, we are trying to help she is a women [sic]. What was replied was ‘well punch her back, she is a big girl, multi time champ.’ He even tried to help her up, nobody wanted that to happen,” Derik Santos stated
Shields has previously spoken about wanting to face a male boxer. She had called out Keith Thurman, who distanced himself from a fight. But there is a narrative for Shields to face Ahmetovs if a deal can be agreed upon.
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