Jake Paul has caused a stir within the boxing world and beyond. He was no longer on the bright side of women’s champion Claressa Shields, and now more fuel has been added to the fire between the two.
USA Today Sports + This week he posted excerpts of leaked emails from Shields manager Mark Taffet and promoter Dmitry Salita to Paul and promoter Nakisa Bidarian, dating back to Paul’s fight at Triller against former NBA star Nate Robinson. . Paul knocked out Robinson in the second round in November 2020 on an undercard featuring Mike Tyson versus Roy Jones Jr. Paul attempted to work with Shields, and it appears that Shields’ team contacted Paul at some point to be on that undercard. .
“Claressa is obviously one of the greatest female fighters of all time, but the amount (of viewers) that she has didn’t make sense to us in terms of what Mark hoped to achieve for her (in money), so I didn’t.” I don’t think he joined the Tyson-Jones pay-per-view, which ended up being the eighth largest ever, “Bidarian, who helped Triller with the event, told USA Today Sports + on why the parties didn’t. they were able to reach an agreement.
Taffet then sent an email on March 15 pitching Shields’ possible involvement in an April 17 fight card for Triller. That card featured Paul knocking out former MMA champion Ben Askren. On March 5, Shields, who was already the undisputed middleweight champion, defeated Marie-Eve Dicaire to win the IBF, WBA and The Ring light middleweight titles to accompany the WBC and WBO belts.
“Claressa had a historic victory … to become the first man or woman in the four-belt era to win an undisputed world title in two weight divisions. We are now beginning a plan for our next fights, and we would love to discuss We plan with you to see if Triller is interested in being the video platform for the world’s greatest female fighter. We would love to participate in your April 17 card if you have a space available, “Taffet wrote.
Bidarian told USA Today Sports + that there was no business need for Shields to be on the card as the focus was on Paul. Meanwhile, Paul has teamed up with seven-division women’s champion Amanda Serrano.
On July 14, Salita offered her services to Bidarian regarding logistics and events after moving to Showtime. However, during this time, Shields became one of many boxers who criticized Paul for diverting attention from boxers.
Shields, who at one point threatened to sue Paul for defamation, responded to the USA Today Sports + report. She said she was never involved in the emails and that he was never supposed to fight in Paul’s letters.
Taffet made his own statement, in response to the London Daily Mirror’s summary of the drama. “I request opportunities and [Shields] decide if you want them or not. . . exactly what a coach / athlete relationship should look like. She doesn’t ask for opportunities, “he wrote on Twitter.
What poor journalism… I always say “I’m not Claressa, and she’s not me”… this is simple: I request opportunities and she decides whether or not she wants them… exactly what a coach / athlete relationship should be like. She doesn’t ask for opportunities. https://t.co/cOpdVKbGRN
—Mark Taffet (@MarkTaffetMedia) January 7, 2022
Shields said she will be ready to discuss the matter after her middleweight title defense next month against Ema Kozin.
“I’m focused on one thing, looking great on February 5 when I defend my world titles! After that, I’ll talk about these floating lies,” Shields wrote on Twitter.
I’m focused on one thing, looking great on February 5 when I defend my world titles! After that I will talk about these lies that float around ????
– Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) January 7, 2022
The last plus year has been a busy one for Shields, who also competed in MMA for the Professional Fighters League, going 1-1 in two fights.
Paul, who has tried to become a champion of women’s boxing by partnering with Serrano, also responded to the USA Today Sports + report. “Let’s put this behind us and work together to continue building women’s boxing,” she wrote on Twitter.
shields answered briefly, saying that all he cares about is his next fight.
In addition to Shields, Paul is in a battle with UFC president Dana White. Paul has offered to retire from boxing and join the UFC to fight Jorge Masvidal, in exchange for better pay as a boxer.