Claressa Shields: ‘Cris Cyborg betrayed our friendship’ after Saudia Arabia boxing match offer

Some friendships aren’t built to last.

Unfortunately, that was the case between two of combat sports’ best female competitors, boxing world champion Claressa Shields and all-time MMA great Cris “Cyborg” Justino. After helping each other train in the past, the sensational strikers teased a potential clash in the ring once they both became a part of the PFL roster.

Shields, 29, returned to MMA and it’s win column as a 2-1 competitor (14-0) when she won a split decision against Kelsey DeSantis earlier this year in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Cyborg has yet to debut in PFL but says she’s signed her contract to face Larissa Pacheco in September. During this waiting period, Shields and Cyborg were offered an opportunity to collide, says the two-time Olympic gold medalist.

“People from Saudi reached out to me about having money for me and her to have a boxing match,” Shields told MMA Mania. “They were considering it to be like a Tyson Fury vs. [Francis] Ngannou [match], right? I called her up and was like, ‘Hey. This is what we got,’ because we were friends. I let her know the money’s on the table. I gave her the weight class, 154. That’s the lowest that I’ve fought at in boxing and then I thought me and Cris were good and I gave her the guy’s number, her and her team talked to the guy, and then all of the sudden the guy’s calling like, ‘Cris doesn’t want to fight. She said she wants to fight you at 147 or at 145.”

In MMA, Shields has maintained a similar weight to her boxing career with her first two fights at 155 pounds and the most recent at 165. Cyborg, on the other hand, has been a career-long 145-pound featherweight outside of the start of her UFC run in 140-pound catchweight contests.

For Shields’ next endeavor, she’s going for 175-pound heavyweight gold in boxing against Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse next month (Sat., July 27, 2024). Therefore, making the option of going lower in weight more pointless for Shields, she says.

“I’m not going down that low, I’ve never been down there,” Shields said. “This is an opportunity that came from me so, of course, I’m gonna pick the weight class. I didn’t tell her to come to ‘60. I said fight me at 154.

“Me and Cris both walk around at the same weight. 170-175. So, for her to make it seem like 147 is just the best thing to do is like no, it’s not. It’s actually draining me of my power and not making it be a fair fight even though it’s like if I wanted to make 147 I could. It’s the fact of like … why?”

Things turned extra sour between the pair when social media posts were put out. Shields was put off by claims from Cyborg stating she’d get knocked out at the weight she asked for, resulting in her fear of the matchup. There was some glove size discussion afterward and Shields was open to anything in that regard, but ultimately believes her former friend just was stirring things up to promote her own boxing career.

Cyborg, 38, extended her undefeated boxing record to 4-0 with a second-round knockout (watch highlights) of Aria Wild in London, England this past Saturday (June 15, 2024). Ahead of the bout, the Bellator featherweight champion caught up with MMA Mania and responded to Shields’ claims and comments.

“They contacted my team but the money was not right, and the weight was not right,” Cyborg said. “She’s getting heavier and heavier and heavier. So, if you really want the real competition, I think she should go cut weight and you see her and how heavy she’s going.

“If this fight happens between me and her, it’s probably going to be 147. Maybe it can be 154, but the way it’s going, she’s getting heavier and heavier. I don’t think she’s wanting the fight.”

Shields and Cyborg have had a brief run-in in public since they fell out negotiating their potential clash. For Shields, she prefers to try and keep things authentic despite some mixed tones.

The PFL has openly made clear its intent to put on a rematch between Shields and past boxing rival, Savannah Marshall, in MMA. However, Shields has had her year mapped out from the start and has one more boxing match targeted for December after next month’s outing.

Cyborg is open to it, but not with a pay cut.

“Cris knows I don’t fear her,” Shields said. “I don’t really have patience for anybody disrespecting me.

“When I saw her in person, she wanted to be friendly and I was like, ‘Don’t try to be friendly to me when you were just talking all this crap online. Keep that same energy.’ When I get mad, I’m not really the nicest girl and I had to let her know that. This is how I treat my friends [one way], but as far as you not being a friend now, this is how I will treat you and how I will be around you. I ain’t fake and I’m not gonna be acting like something didn’t happen when it happened. She betrayed our friendship for the internet and for clout. We don’t gotta be cool, we don’t gotta kick it, but if she wants to fight, we can.”

“I would fight her. She’s calling me out after my second boxing fight,” Cyborg said. “The money has to be right. I cannot make less money than I make in MMA. I already have accomplished a lot of things in MMA so if she wants to fight a big name, the promoter has to pay.”

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