Christy Martin has a lot to say about current undisputed boxing champion, Claressa “T-Rex” Shields.
Martin expressed her opinion on the current star of women’s boxing during an appearance on the PRITTY Left Hook podcast taping at the 2019 Florida Boxing Hall of Fame taping in Tampa, Florida.
“I think she’s delusional. What has she done? Is she the greatest Olympian, the greatest amateur fighter of all time, absolutely. I will not in anyway argue that point with you or try to take that away from you. The greatest female fighter of all time are you kidding?”
The 24-year-old Shields (9-0, 2 KOs) is a two-division titlist who became the undisputed middleweight champion with a near-shutout victory over Christina Hammer in April on SHOWTIME. In doing so, she joined Terrence Crawford, Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins, Oleksandr Usyk and Cecilia Braekhus as the only fighters to have unified all four major world titles in any weight class (Katie Taylor has since joined the prestigious list).
A decorated amateur, Shields won gold medals in the women’s middleweight division at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. The wins made her the first American boxer, female or male, to win consecutive Olympic medals.
“If she was boxing in my era in the nineties, I can give you a list of 8-10 fighters that would kick her ass today, including yours truly.”
A minor injury in training forced Shields to suspend training and postpone her bid to become the fastest fighter in boxing history, male or female, to become a three-division world champion.
Shields injured her knee doing roadwork early this week, while preparing to take on former world champion Ivana Habazin for the vacant WBO Super Welterweight Championship on Saturday, August 17, at the Dort Federal Event Center in Shields’ hometown of Flint, Mich., and televised live nationally on SHOWTIME.
At one time, Christy Martin was thought of as the most successful and prominent female boxer in the United States. She fought everyone in her era and had a long 23-year professional career.
