Before knocking out Aussie Kaye Scott over the weekend, Claressa Shields had already caused a stir in the boxing world with an extraordinary claim about what would happen if she ever stepped into the ring with male world champion Rolly Romero.
“I’ll beat Rolly, and he’s a world champion,” Shields declared when asked if there was a male champ she believed she could defeat.
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And ‘The GWOAT’ said she meant every word.
“I think Rolly is very unorthodox. He’s very strong, right? But I’m way taller than him, way longer than him and got better boxing skills,” Shields said.
“It’s hard for somebody smaller to hurt somebody that’s bigger. I walk around at 185. He fights at 140 – or is it 147?”
Now Romero has fired back.
And the WBA welterweight champion certainly hasn’t held back, accusing Shields of having a “crush” on him while revealing the bizarre story behind a feud he claims stretches back more than a decade.
An official crossover battle-of-the-sexes bout is unlikely to ever materialise, but that hasn’t stopped Shields from entertaining the idea.
Until now, Romero had largely remained silent on Shields’ claims as he prepared for this weekend’s title defence against Teofimo Lopez in Las Vegas.
But speaking to DAZN News, Romero finally responded.
“She got knocked out in sparring by a dude I knocked out in my second fight with no effort,” Romero said.
“Because of everything, men should not be in the ring with women, OK?
“She could be the greatest female fighter of all time. She has four people in her weight division or whatever it is. But why does she keep bringing me up into this?
“She has a crush on me.”
And according to Romero, there is more history between the pair than most boxing fans would realise.
Romero claims he and the two-time Olympic gold medallist have crossed paths on three occasions – with their first meeting coming more than a decade ago and ending in bizarre fashion.
“First time I met her was on October 27, 2015,” Romero said.
“And I met her again on January 17, 2019. And then I met her again on June 12 of 2023.”
According to Romero, that first encounter came while he was attempting to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.
After missing a shuttle to the venue, Romero said he was offered a ride by another boxer.
Shields, who by that stage was already an Olympic gold medallist, was also in the car.
“And she hops in the car, and I get in the car, and she’s like, ‘Who’s this bum in this car?’” Romero recalled.
“And I’m just like, ‘What?’
“She’s like, ‘Man, get this bum out of the car.’ I’ve never even met this girl.”
Romero said the driver attempted to convince Shields to let him stay before the young fighter revealed he may someday sign with Floyd Mayweather.
That apparently didn’t impress Shields either.
“I was like, ‘I might get signed to Floyd one day,’” Romero said.
“She’s like, ‘You’re a bum. You ain’t going to do anything.’
“So I got out of the car. It was the weirdest thing ever.”
Four years later, however, Romero claims their second meeting went very differently.
By then he had signed with Mayweather Promotions and was beginning to establish himself as a pro.
Romero said Shields approached him at an event in January 2019 and introduced herself, apparently with no recollection of their previous encounter.
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“Now I’m more of a well-known fighter. I’m already signed to Floyd,” Romero said.
“She comes up to me and introduces herself, ‘Hey, you’re Rolly. I’m Claressa. Nice to meet you.’
“And I look at her, I’m like, ‘We met before.’
“She’s like, ‘Really? When?’
“I’m like, ‘In Memphis, October 27, 2015. You gave me a ride.’
“And she just stood there frozen, put her head down and walked away.”
More than a decade later, there still appears to be little love lost.
Shields has continued to stand by her belief that her boxing ability would give Romero serious problems.
“Nobody ever said I was stronger than Rolly. I never said that,” Shields said during the Nightcap debate.
“I am telling you off of pure boxing.”
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Romero, though, believes there is another explanation for why his name continues to come up.
“At the end of it, I can’t really say anything good or bad about it,” Romero said.
“If I say something bad, there’s no winning. I say something good, well, I mean, there’s no winning because then she’s going to keep roasting me.
“Dude, the girl has a crush on me, bro. It’s clear as day that she has a crush on me.”
Parts of this story first appeared on DAZN News.