Claressa Shields the GWOAT, boxing's best, Laila Ali superfight, on overcoming trauma, silencing doubters, her relationship with Papoose, becoming a mother, defending her undisputed title July 26 & legacy.

"The hardship and everything I went through created the fire inside, people don't understand the woman I am." Claressa Shields Heavyweight Undisputed Champion In this powerful, no-holds-barred episode of The Pivot Podcast, the GWOAT herself—Claressa Shields—joins Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor for one of her most personal interviews to date. From surviving a tough upbringing in Flint, Michigan to becoming the only boxer—male or female—to be undisputed in two weight classes simultaneously, Claressa shares the raw truth behind her journey. She opens up about the pain that made her, the critics that tried to break her, and the constant pressure of being a Black woman at the top of one of the most male-dominated sports in the world. But it’s not all about the ring. In a deeply personal moment, Claressa reveals the reason behind two of her early dreams: Becoming an Olympic medalist and buying a bed. Sleeping on the floor most of her childhood and always having to fight for acceptance led her to fight for what she wanted. Claressa also lets us in on her private life—specifically her relationship with rapper and hip-hop legend Papoose. She talks about the bond they’ve built, what his steady support means to her, and how love and loyalty outside the ring fuel her fight inside of it, even opening up on motherhood in the near future. It’s a side of Claressa the public rarely sees—vulnerable, grounded, and deeply human. With her next undisputed title defense set for July 26 in Detroit, Claressa shares what’s driving her into this fight, why it feels more personal than ever, and how she's staying focused amid everything—from family to fame to legacy. She addresses the critics who’ve downplayed her success, and the media that still tries to put limits on her greatness while acknowledging that her journey is a lot like her male counterpart, Terrance Bud Crawford, who she calls he twin, not just in the fight game but in life too. This isn't just another sports interview. It's a real conversation with one of the most dominant and dynamic athletes of our time—who’s still fighting for her respect, her people, and her place in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Clarissa Shields is the quote. Yeah, yeah, y'all. She made that up. Greatest woman of all time. But she believes it so deeply. She wants to fight Leila Ali for millions of dollars and even told us if Leila whips her, she's gonna give her one of her chains. The Flintstone grew up tough in Michigan. She was the protector of her house. Many nights sleeping on the floor in front of the front door in order to protect her family. But who was protecting her? Sexually abused as a child, poor, and tired of losing? She turned to boxing. She became a two-time Olympic gold medalist and she's the only male or female to be a three-division undisputed champion in the history of boxing. But she has her eyes on other things. She says after she beats Lonnie Daniels on July 26, she wants to start a family with rapper Papoose and then she'll return to boxing.

• 1:15Ryan Clark?

  That's when you know nobody can mess with you. She talks women's pay in boxing, family life, beef with other boxers, and business. And then she tells us why even women shouldn't have sex before their matches. I mean, it's a convo. Get ready for some body blows because me, Fred, and Chan are about to sit down with the quote Claressa Shields for a conversation with no standing aid count.

• 1:38Channing Crowder?

  I don't know my, my take a punch radius right now in life. Oh, because you done already felt that, that, that sleep. Already been sleep.

• 1:46Fred Taylor?

  Can you imagine if she touched Chan? What's that little thing you say?

• 1:50Channing Crowder?

  Booty in the air?

• 1:51Fred Taylor?

  Booty in the air. And women put in that work, though.

• 1:54Channing Crowder?

  Who put in work?

• 1:54Fred Taylor?

  The women boxers.

• 1:55Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, they did. They worked.

• 1:56Fred Taylor?

  They put that work in. I want to see you get in the room.

• 1:58Channing Crowder?

  There she is.

• 1:59Speaker 04

  Hey, hey, what's up, family?

• 2:01Channing Crowder?

  What's happening? What's happening with you?

• 2:02Speaker 04

  What's up, y'all?

• 2:03Channing Crowder?

  Good to see you. Good to see you.

• 2:04Fred Taylor?

  What's up, champ? It's a pleasure.

• 2:06Speaker 04

  Same.

• 2:07Channing Crowder?

  Does it, is it quote? Is that, is that how it said?

• 2:10Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's like goat, but W, quote, yeah.

• 2:12Channing Crowder?

  Yeah. You made that up, didn't you?

• 2:14Speaker 04

  Greatest woman of all time. Muhammad Ali made it up, greatest of all time. I didn't add the W because I'm a woman.

• 2:20Ryan Clark?

  I love it.

• 2:21Fred Taylor?

  Speaking of the Ali's, you got two quote chains. And you and Leila, y'all had a conversation. Well, I've heard some on the internet about you guys getting at it. She gonna want one of them.

• 2:31Speaker 04

  She gonna want what?

• 2:32Fred Taylor?

  One of those quote chains.

• 2:34Speaker 04

  You know, if Laila Ali can beat me in a fight, I would, I would give her, I would give it to her. If she can beat me in a fight, but she can't.

• 2:40Ryan Clark?

  Mm, she can't.

• 3:01Ryan Clark?

  The voice you hear, the face you see is Claressa Shill. She already told y'all, she's the quote. I mean, two-time gold medalist, three-time undisputed champion in three different divisions. Only man or woman to do that, and the current heavyweight champion. Welcome to the Pivot. This is Channing Crowder, Ryan Clark. This is Freddie T. Pivot fam, thank y'all for pivoting with us. I mean, we've been trying to get this together forever.

• 3:25Speaker 04

  I feel like it's been years. I'm like, yo, when you wore the pink suit, I'm like, hey.

• 3:32Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, so it's, it's, it's been a, a long time coming. Um, recently, you were on The Breakfast Club, and you said something very interesting. A lot of times when we talk to men who've made it in basketball, or made it in football, and you say, hey, what would you have been doing if you weren't playing football, or you didn't get here hooping? And they'd say, well, I'd be dead or in jail. I've never heard a woman say that. What is it about your upbringing that you felt like, without boxing, those would have been the two choices for you?

• 4:05Speaker 04

  Well, I'm born and raised in Flint, Michigan. And people say Flint known for the water crisis or whatever. But me growing up, Flint was known for having the highest murder rate in, out of the entire country for I don't know how many years. And so with that, a lot, a lot of my friends, a lot of my peers were killed growing up. And without boxing, the way that my anger is set up, the way that my attitude is set up, I feel like I put a hundred percent into boxing, and that's what made me be so great. But without boxing, I would have put a hundred percent in something else to make me be able to fend for my family and do for my family, because I am the protector and the breadwinner of my family. So without boxing, I still would have made a way for us,

• 4:50Speaker 04

  but it would have ended up jail or dead, a hundred percent.

• 4:55Channing Crowder?

  But that thought process that you just talked about from being from Flint, we talked to Draymond, like you kind of, you hear the same thing. But once you make it, don't, can't you, I don't say don't you have to, but can't you move past that? Wouldn't you want to move past like that? Almost surviving, over thriving, you're thriving now.

• 5:17Speaker 04

  Yeah, a hundred percent. But my mentality is my mentality. You know what I mean? Like, I'm a killer. It is what it is. I'm a beast. And I'm gonna always keep that. The anger that I have, I put it towards something good. So when people be saying that I'm angry, a lot of times I'm like, I'm not angry. I'm just, I'm very passionate about what I do. I love boxing. I love fighting. And, I mean, I love fighting so much. I did MMA, which is crazy, you know? But I did it to prove a point to myself, prove a point to the fans, to the doubters. And that's just the mentality that I have. But I know that I'm winning in life, you know? I'm happy. I'm successful. My, everybody in my family is doing well. I'm in, I'm in great health. I have a dog. I mean,

• 6:03Speaker 04

  these things are what matters to me. And I just, you know, people, you know,

• 6:10Speaker 04

  I ask, you know, God, give you your heart desires. I asked God for a bed and an Olympic gold medal. That's all I wanted. I don't want nothing else. God, I pray that you help me win an Olympic gold medal when I turn seventeen, and then I can be able to have enough money to purchase me a bed.

• 6:27Ryan Clark?

  Why was that your first purchase, though, after winning the gold medal?

• 6:32Speaker 04

  Because I didn't have a bed growing up.

• 6:35Fred Taylor?

  Where'd you sleep?

• 6:37Speaker 04

  On the floor, or the couch. A lot of times it was the floor. I have a very dysfunctional family and my sister is very territorial.

• 6:47Speaker 04

  So it was like the couch was her territory. So I was like, alright. And a lot of times, I was the protector of my house, so a lot of times I would sleep on the door. So when nobody come into our house. My mom was very friendly, very nice. I mean, you know, my freaking grandma used to say, "Your mama let the roaches come live with us." Like she let the roaches come in. Like she welcomed everybody into our home. And it got to a point with, you know, with me where I was like, "Everybody can't just come in here." You know, and it was like, I had the mindset of like a boy too where it was like, "Mom, you can't have no boyfriends." "Don't bring no, bring no man up in here." You know, but it was like she had friends with, she was friends with everybody. So it got to a point where I'm like, "Nah, bro, you not coming in here."

• 7:33Speaker 04

  "No." "I'm sleeping on the door, if the door move, the door gonna hit me first." "And then I'm gonna get up and be like, 'What you want?'" "Oh, we here to see me, she sleep." "Shut the door, sit back down." You know, I was, I was one of them growing up, so.

• 7:50Fred Taylor?

  Yeah. You, you said boxing helped you find yourself.

• 7:54Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 7:54Fred Taylor?

  So I want to know what was going through your mind when you were 11 and you first stepped into the gym at, what was it, Bursting?

• 8:01Speaker 04

  Bursting Field House.

• 8:02Fred Taylor?

  Bursting Field House, yeah.

• 8:04Speaker 04

  I walked in a Bursting and I seen two guys inside the ring sparring. And my first thought was, "I can do that." And then I talked to the coach and I said I wanted to start boxing and he said, "Why?" And I was like, "I'm just tired of losing." And he was like, "Losing at what?" I'm like, "Losing in basketball, losing in soccer." You know, only thing I was really winning at was track. But basketball, we always lost and I always had to argue with the girls after the game. Like, "Why didn't you hand me the ball?" You know, so I got to a point where I was like, "I want to do something that if fully relies on me and when I win, I win, when I lose, I lose." You know, so I wanted to just, I wanted to box. And I knew how to fight a little bit already too. Like I always had a heart.

• 8:45Ryan Clark?

  And this is, you know, a little bit off the beaten path. Just listening to you say you want to win. And being that fighting could be that thing. It's well documented that you were a victim of sexual abuse at a very young age.

• 9:03Ryan Clark?

  How much did that play a part in your fighter's mentality?

• 9:09Speaker 04

  Um, I can say that maybe that's where some of the anger came from when I was a kid. But it was so many other things that I was angry about besides the sexual abuse. You know, I was mad that I was hungry all the time. I was mad that I didn't have the support of my parents that other families had. I was mad because my hair wasn't done. You know, I was mad that, you know, a lot of things that I couldn't help. It was just my circumstances, you know. But after a while, you know, once I got saved and I got baptized, you know, Jeremiah 29:11, you know, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and give you plans to prosper." You know, and I live with that.

• 9:53Speaker 04

  Even though I was in bad circumstances at the time and I was really angry about it, I found a way to kind of like sit in it and live with it, but to keep working towards something. And that's what boxing did for me. It gave me something to work toward. It gave me something to hope for. I mean, I was an 11-year-old girl, 12, telling everybody, "Look, I'm going to the Olympics." When I turned 17, everybody was like, "Girl, this girl is crazy." I'm like, "I'm telling y'all." I walked around, I had my diaries. I probably had nine diaries from the time I was in the seventh grade till I graduated. And when I go back and read my diaries sometime, I crack up laughing because I'm like, "What was wrong with me?"

• 10:32Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I think, I think it's amazing testament to you, though, that, you know, whoever that person is didn't break you. Whatever your circumstances were, didn't break you. And to become the greatest, you said, right? The greatest female fighter of all time. But definitely one of the greatest fighters, period, of all time, is a testament to your perseverance, your ability to fight through adversity, the faith that you had. And just for me, it's inspirational. And I think there's a lot of people that could take from your story and look at their circumstances and say, "I can become a champion too at something." So I just wanted to give you your flowers on that.

• 11:11Speaker 04

  Thank you. And since we're there... The hardship and everything created The Fire Inside, the biopic. People don't understand the type of woman that I am, but if you watch that movie, then you understand, then you understand where the grit, the tenacity, the, the ur comes from. Like, then you understand, but if you don't watch the documentary, or if you don't really follow me and know my upbringing, you'll never understand the type of woman that I am.

• 11:39Channing Crowder?

  Yeah. And I was asking, I seen, I watched the movie on a plane recently.

• 11:43Speaker 04

  Okay.

• 11:44Channing Crowder?

  What, because I've talked to some other people that documentaries made about them. Did they exaggerate anything in that movie? Because you got to make it for a TV, you got to, you know, you got, you got to build up. Me, I, I teared up during it, you know, when you was young.

• 11:58Speaker 04

  I cry every time I watch it.

• 11:59Channing Crowder?

  Pops came back, you know, you know what I'm saying? Like, but was, was that, was, was that your life growing up if you go watch Fire Inside?

• 12:06Speaker 04

  Absolutely. The only thing that was fabricated was I never tried to palm my Olympic gold medal. Never. I, I would never do that. Even though I was disappointed about how I was treated, you know, in the media and everything after I was the first woman in America to win an Olympic gold medal at the age of seventeen. I didn't get any recognition for that. I got the parade when I got home, I got to free McDonald's for two years. You know, uh, I had my Olympic gold medal, but I didn't get any, get any endorsements, any sponsorships.

• 12:44Speaker 04

  I didn't get to do like what the other girls were doing, you know, and I was like, wait a minute. You know, I won an Olympic gold medal too. And those girls came and watched me fight, and I went and watched them do their flips, and I went and watched them run, run, and we were all together. So, well, I didn't get what I felt I deserved. You know, that was, um, something that bothered me, but I never would have palled my gold medal because I, because, because I had money. I had got fifty thousand for being the only person to win an Olympic gold medal for that USA team. I had got my Olympic gold medal. I was being paid five thousand dollars a month at the time, so I had money. Yeah, that was a little weird too in the movie like.

• 13:28Speaker 04

  It make it seem like I won my Olympic gold medal and I came back to same circumstances and it was like. Yeah, somewhat, but I had a lot of money and me being a seventeen year old kid is like, what do you do with this money? You know, I didn't go and get a car till I, you wouldn't believe this, you wouldn't believe this. I was, it was the winter time.

• 13:48Speaker 04

  And I told myself that I would never catch the bus in Flint again because I have Olympic gold medal, so I'll walk everywhere. I'm not getting on no bus, they like, like they'd never catch me on a bus. And I seen this old lady, it was, it was snowing. I seen a old lady walking to the bus stop, but she was moving, but she wasn't moving, like I could tell her legs was stiffening up, right? So I'm looking, I'm like, this lady need help. So I run down there to help the lady and you wouldn't believe who it was. It was my mom.

• 14:21Speaker 04

  Walking to the bus stop. And I looked and I said, what the hell? And I was like, ma, she was like, muffin? I said, she said, am I dreaming? I said, ma, it's me, you okay? She was freezing. But she was hustling to get to the bus stop. And I walked to the, I walked to the bus stop, I told her, stay right there, I ran over there to the store, I got her a hat. I got her some gloves, I got her a coke. We waited for the bus to come and she got on the bus. I not let her go and I was like. What the hell am I doing with fifty thousand dollars in my account? And my mom is walking to the bus stop in the winter. I just, it didn't, it didn't make no sense to me. The next day, I hit up, uh, one of my friend's mom was like, yo, help me find a car.

• 15:06Speaker 04

  Help me find a car. And that's when I went and got, that's when I went and got me a car, but if that would never happen, I probably would never got me a car.

• 15:15Speaker 04

  I'm telling you, I was like, what?

• 15:17Fred Taylor?

  In sport, we, through hard work, we tend to find our paths and a love for the game. Then the passion kicks in. But then also, as we go through it, we tend to find things to play for in our sport, or even fight for, right? Your coach, grandmother, mother, you just mentioned her, you were fighting for them, right? They played a big part in your, in your career. The way you've gone through the three different classes, what do you, what's left to prove? And who do you, who are you doing it for now?

• 15:48Speaker 04

  Oh, right now, I'm just doing it for legacy right now. You know, I'm only 30, so my career is far from over. A lot of the girls in boxing are older than me. I'm still younger than them, even though I've accomplished more.

• 16:02Speaker 04

  Right now, I'm just doing it for myself and for my future family. You know, I plan on having my own kids, and I plan on being married. And I also too, you know, I have a younger sister, and she got three kids, who are like my kids. So, I help her take care of them. And then I also have to make sure that I'm, you know, financially well for when I have my own kids, and stuff like that. So, that's kind of what I, what I do it for now, and just my legacy. Listen, I want, when I'm done boxing right now, I'm 17-time world champion, and then I fight next week for two more belts against Alani Daniels up in Detroit. So, when I be hurt, I'll be 90-time world champion, you know?

• 16:42Speaker 04

  So, within eight years, if I can retire and they say something like 40-time world champion, 50-time world champion, ain't nobody gonna be able to do that.

• 16:54Fred Taylor?

  So, while you were saying that, something kind of came to me because not too long ago, Naomi Osaka, she mentioned, you know, how tough it had been after she had her child. You know, and trying to go out there and still be competitive and leading at your best. You're, you're up against a clock, right? You're saying in eight years possibly. And I know that the older women get, it gets tougher to have kids. Do you think of that like a expiration date on your career? Or is it eight years and that's it? Or when will you try and go into, you know, having a family? Or would you have kids and then go back to boxing?

• 17:33Speaker 04

  That's what I want to do. I feel like I've, I've, I've put too much time on hold on having a kid and being married and stuff for boxing already. Um, I'm gonna have a baby next year. I've already, we are, we already have it planned out. I'm gonna have baby next year. And then after I go through my stuff, then I'll come back and fight, and fight some more. And then probably have another one and then do the same thing again. Like, I don't want to wait till I'm, you know, forty, forty-three, whatever, after my career to have my kids.

• 18:04Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 18:04Speaker 04

  I want to be able to run at the park with my kids and stuff like that. I don't, I don't want to be too old. So, I think that keeping my body in shape, I don't drink, I don't smoke. I think that that, that, that'll also help me too when I'm going through this whole body and life-changing stuff, you know?

• 18:20Ryan Clark?

  You don't drink and you don't smoke, you also don't have sex before the fight, which I don't understa- like, I don't, I don't get it. Like, so we talked to the men, right?

• 18:29Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 18:29Ryan Clark?

  And they're like, you know, I, you know, I don't want, ah, I don't want to release in, in that manner.

• 18:35Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 18:35Ryan Clark?

  While I'm preparing for a fight.

• 18:37Speaker 04

  Absolutely.

• 18:37Ryan Clark?

  You know, I saw you talk, I think you talking to Angela Yee.

• 18:39Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 18:40Ryan Clark?

  And you were talking about, and you were saying, you know, what the, what the women do? You know, you was trying to find a word for it. What does, what do you feel that does for you in preparation for a fight? Because what it's doing is taking six weeks off of practice and making a baby.

• 18:57Speaker 04

  Well, we don't want to get pregnant before the fight.

• 19:01Fred Taylor?

  Two-on-one.

• 19:05Speaker 04

  Because we got to take a pregnancy test the week of the fight and three days before, and then the day of. So they making sure like, you, hey, you ain't gonna be fighting pregnant, period. So, uh, well, that's one. And then, and then too, I think when it comes to, um, when it comes to sex, right? Men and women, women may look at it different, but women have something called orgasms, right? And when women have that, it take a lot out of you. I'm training two or three times a day. I don't got time to be trying to force myself to work out because I don't have a freaking. You know, orgasm. I would rather keep everything in.

• 19:46Speaker 04

  And I feel like, to me, I feel like it helps me be more prepared for the fight. And when you go without, you know, sex, and I mean, you guys are men, it do make you be a bit more aggressive. And you can lift more weights, and you can squat more weight, and everything. It's the same thing for me. It's the same thing for me.

• 20:06Channing Crowder?

  That's a lesson to you young boys out there, women come too. If they work for it. If that thing, that thing don't start doing that at the end, you ain't doing nothing, young man. You been waiting for this. I saw you light up as soon as he asked the question. Yeah, cuz that's what it is. You lit up. I heard the question when a women athlete's like, hey, is it different? Bro, and they, that's a, that's a lot of energy leaving your body.

• 20:33Speaker 04

  But some people like to be that relaxed and stuff before a fight. Me, it's just, it's just, it's, I fight too hard and I, and I got too much on the line to be relaxed in there. I need to be on my Ps and my Qs, period. So, you know, that's like, why you wanna be relaxed when you got a pitbull on your ass? You know what I'm saying, like?

• 20:54Channing Crowder?

  That why you be punching on people. She be in there tense. Motherfucker.

• 21:01Speaker 04

  But I also too like to be sharp and show my skills and all that stuff. And you can't do that if you going there all laxadaisical and all relaxed. Like you, like, I'm, I'm relaxed mentally, but physically, I'm on go.

• 21:14Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 21:15Speaker 00

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• 21:45Channing Crowder?

  Do you, cuz we, I've, I've watched you fight, I know we've all watched you fight. At times, it seems like you're messing with them, and then, then you cut on. Like, you know you could whoop them, you know you could whoop a girl. So you're going there, because when you swing, it's everything, and like, you see every muscle in your shoulder.

• 22:06Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 22:07Channing Crowder?

  But then it seem like sometimes you like, yeah, bitch, okay.

• 22:11Speaker 04

  I be strong in my skills, you know what I'm saying?

• 22:14Channing Crowder?

  That's what made me think, when you said my skills and then just, hey, I can knock your ass out whenever I want to.

• 22:18Speaker 04

  Yeah, because you want to know, boxing is so critical, like with like the, with the critiques of people when they, when they criticizing you because when I first came out the gate and I was knocking girls out and early in my career, they said I ain't had no boxing skills, all I had was power. So I was like, I'm one of the most skilled women in boxing, they crazy, so then I switch it up on them and beat these girls 10 rounds, 10 rounds straight. I get hit 5%, I land at over 50%, I'm dogging these girls out now with, now with skill, and then they go to say, oh, she ain't got no power. And I'm like, first you don't want me knocking the girls out because I'm making the competition look too easy. So now all I got is power and I, and I can box.

• 23:01Speaker 04

  Then I show you I got good head movement, good defense, good offense, and I'm schooling these girls 10 rounds straight. Now you say, I can't knock, I, I can't knock nobody out. And I'm like, where y'all get that from? You know, so it's just, I think that with boxing, I think early in my career, I was kind of letting like the critics kind of get to me a little bit and that's why I start showing people like, look, I can, I can box, I can do whatever I want to do in here. But now in my mind, the only thing that I, that I care about is dominating and winning. You know, if the knockout come, cool. But I know that I can go in there and beat any woman in boxing 10 rounds straight.

• 23:40Fred Taylor?

  I think that's very entertaining. Your skill set is the best I've ever seen. And much like the, you know, like the WNBA, right? Because I heard you say before that the landscape from pay scale should be a little bit more balanced, right? So like Netflix just recently, they had the big fight, over 10 million viewers or something. Amanda got seven figures, so did Katie. And, you know, you can kind of see what MVP is doing, promotions. Things are kind of seem like they're building. How do you feel about, you know, where the state of women's boxing is? Is it getting better? Is it closing the gap to where you thought it could get?

• 24:20Speaker 04

  Women's, right now is a great time to be a woman fighter. Right now, in boxing, you know. People like to overlook it, but I am the first woman to make a million dollars in boxing. And that was in 2022.

• 24:33Fred Taylor?

  Okay.

• 24:34Speaker 04

  So, I love what Jake Paul is doing now with the women and MVP. You know, Amanda Serrano was a great fighter, so was Katie Taylor. Um, those women deserve those paydays. But with me, I've been working from the ground up to build to where I am now.

• 24:51Fred Taylor?

  You didn't, you didn't mention Alicia.

• 24:55Speaker 04

  You didn't mention her either. You mentioned the girls.

• 24:57Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, but I thought, we saw three great, I thought I saw three great fighters out there.

• 25:03Speaker 04

  No, Alicia did her thing.

• 25:04Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 25:05Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah, I like Alicia, she cool. You know.

• 25:08Channing Crowder?

  She seemed like that one of the video I saw. She ran up on the little girl. She ran up on the little girl.

• 25:13Speaker 04

  No, well, Alicia's older than me.

• 25:17Channing Crowder?

  I'm not talking about age, I'm talking about height and size.

• 25:21Speaker 04

  She wasn't talking like she was smaller than me, so I had to check the temperature, see what was going on.

• 25:25Fred Taylor?

  You were a real bully.

• 25:28Speaker 04

  No, I'm not. This is the thing that people get mixed up. Me and Alicia, well, one, congrats to her, up, up on her fight. I was, I seen her at the ring three fight, but I wasn't able to speak to her. You know what I'm saying? Me, me and her aren't close like we was. But we, but we did kind of hash things out to where it's not beef.

• 25:48Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 25:49Speaker 04

  Cause at first, it was smoking the city. At first, and I'm like, hold up. You got the right, you, you got the, you got the right thing at the right time, hold on now. And, um, so we, we started off, um, as friends and we actually grew up around each other in the amateurs. Now, turning pro, I kind of distanced myself away from a lot of females because they be hating. And some of them be like secretly hating. So, me and her did start off on the right foot up in the pros, but then we did get cool, cause we had a mutual friend. And, um, as we got cool, you know, I'm like, I'm supporting her. You know what I'm saying? I'm telling all my fans, support her, get behind her. I don't know, one day, I woke up.

• 26:33Speaker 04

  And it was just all over that she had caught me out. This is the first time she did it. So me, I'm like, I'm not an internet type person, especially people with my friends. So I hit her like, what's up? She like, nothing. I'm like, you trying to scrap? Like, what's up? She was like, girl, I was just bored. I'm like, alright, cool. I left her alone. Right. You know, because you can do whatever you want to do on your social media. But when I hit you and you tell me it's not nothing, alright, cool. So then, she called me out again on a video. And I'm like, huh? So, I hit her up again. This is about a month later, I'm like, yo, what's up? She like, yeah, I think I beat you.

• 27:18Speaker 04

  And I'm like, huh? I'm like, when did this? I'm like, when did you even? One, we're so many weight classes apart. I never seen us having to, having to go at it because it's like, you're so small. Not that you a little dog, but I'm just saying you're so small, you know? And I know I fought, lowest I fought is 154, highest she fought is 130. Yes. You know, so I never seen us having to do that. And I, and you know, me, I'm a very, people don't know, but I'm very humble when it like come to real things and real people. So, I've told her before, like, how me and Toni Harrison is sharing a car at the Little Sisters Arena with 19,000 about to be there.

• 28:00Speaker 04

  I told her, me, you can do the same shit. She wanted to be number one. She wanted to be the it girl. She wanted to be the one. So she felt like, nobody was giving her that credit. So she just gonna just come at me and put our names together? And people gonna see her on the same level as me? And I never wanted to say how many levels we, we was apart. I didn't want to say that because it was like, at the end of the day, I, I rocks with you. But now when you start coming for the queen, I gotta show you. Baby, it's levels to this shit. And you're not, you're not up here. You're good, but I'm greater than great. Like, I'm up here.

• 28:45Speaker 04

  And I had to let her know, like, hey, man, this is not what you want. Not in the ring or outside the ring. So, her disrespect continues. She went on a whole little fuck Claressa Shields tour. So, when she did that, and then I seen her in person, it was like, tch, you got to see me. It ain't gonna be no, just no, oh, I see you in the distance and I'mma ask you what's up. And then, you know, she did a couple of things, though. You know, we went from, like, I asked her from being cool to now she online calling me ugly. Now she online saying that I can't box. Now she online saying she had better boxing than me. She knocked me out. Those fighting words. So, of course, when I see you, I got to, I got to check you.

• 29:30Speaker 04

  And, and that's exactly what happened. But, I don't like that I had to show her that side of me because I really did love her. You know what I'm saying? I really did have a lot of respect for her and I really did wish her well. But, and when it's me versus anybody, I always got to rock out with me. No, but no, just to finish that, it's, listen, it's all, it's all love with me and Lysia. Like, you know, she still says she wanna fight and stuff. She got to come to 154, she got to come to 160. But, um, I just don't, I just don't have no close fights. That's all I know.

• 30:00Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, she, well, she's not gonna come to 154 or 160.

• 30:05Speaker 04

  Oh.

• 30:05Ryan Clark?

  And, and I, I will give her this, you know, when we spoke to her, her tone was definitely, yeah, her tone was definitely different than, you know, some of those things. So, hopefully, with you being the best in the business, her continuing to shine, I would love to see that card with you on it and her on it. Just to show that, whatever our differences are, the things that if we used to rock with each other, we could talk like women, if we could hash this out, we could be good.

• 30:32Speaker 04

  I told her way back before any of this beef shit started, when I had my first fight at Little Caesars Arena and she was fighting at the Masonic Temple two weeks later, I'm like, yo, you should jump on my card and be the co-main event for this one and we can just put our numbers together. Cause I did 12,000 tickets that fight, but like, the place hold 19,000. So, my goal is to do 19,000.

• 30:54Ryan Clark?

  Fill it up.

• 30:55Speaker 04

  Right, so I'm like, look, you can be the co-main event this time. The next time, you be the main event and I be your co-main event. And when I'm telling her this, I'm dead ass serious. I'm like, the brand that she had and the brand that I have, they can coexist, but they can also build each other. You know what I'm saying? And this is what I, and this is what I had told her. But I think at the time, she was just so freaking, um, she was so hungry, you know what I'm saying? And she just was like, no, I gotta, it gotta be me, me, me. And um, that's kind of how she went about it. But when we did talk, I don't know, was it back December? January, sometime we ended up having a face to face talk of French John Crew set it up.

• 31:37Speaker 04

  And we, and we ended up talking and like I said, we, it's a sisterhood there, but it's also too a competitive nature. And I already, I already told her, I said, look, listen, if you, if you feel like we got to square up and, and we got to fight, we always can spar.

• 31:52Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 31:52Speaker 04

  We can always do that.

• 31:53Ryan Clark?

  Question about sisterhood though, um, I enjoyed something you said about Angel Reese after the BET Awards. Because people were sort of trying to pit you against her. And you say, look, I'm not saying that these other women aren't great. What I'm saying is, I thought that BET would finally acknowledge my accolades, my accomplishments. But you mentioned some of the hate that you get, along with some of the hate that Angel Reese gets, which has been just amplifying itself and amping up lately. When you look at the similarities between you and Angel Reese, why is it do you believe both of you receive so much hate and so much public criticism?

• 32:36Speaker 04

  You know, I, I don't know Angel Reese personally, you know, we have a mutual friend, friend in that shack, you know, but

• 32:46Speaker 04

  honestly, I think it's just full blown racism, what she deals with. You know, and I think the whole finger thing with Katelyn Clark just kind of made people jump on this bandwagon of let's hate Angel Reese for the rest of our lives. And with social media, it gives them the freedom to do that. You know, and she's still just herself, you know, she's winning and people hate to see you win and they want to throw you off. Same thing with me, I've been winning, I feel like my entire life, you know, from the age of Fifteen, Junior Olympics, Olympics at seventeen, World Championships, Continentals, Pan Ams, winning all this stuff, Olympics, and I think that people, one, I have to say,

• 33:31Speaker 04

  I'm dark skinned, so it's hate that come with that anyway. People think that I don't, think that I don't realize it, but I seen the same hate that, that, that I get, I seen Serena Williams get the same hate, growing up. On, on social media, doing her ESPN body issue, body perfect, got a nice butt, got a nice shape, muscles and shape, and I saw a comment saying that, "Oh, she looks like a man, uh, you know, her butt's too big, it's not real, why is she built like that?" Calling her monkeys, gorillas, all type of stuff. And I go through the same thing. And I knew that that, I feel like that's what comes with when you're very successful, you're your, you are yourself,

• 34:15Speaker 04

  you don't let people change you. I think that's where like the hate come from. And then you just, you're outspoken, and, and you're not shy about your greatness. Everybody, people want me to, like, they want me to let y'all and everybody else tell me how great I am. And me just sit back and be like, "Okay, yeah, alright." Now, until you say it, it don't mean nothing. Like, whatever I do, it, like, I shouldn't big myself up, I should let y'all do it. And I, and I just have to be honest, had I not ever said that I was the greatest, greatest woman of all time, they would have never gave me that recognition, no matter how great I fight. I had to let the world know, this is what it is. I had to put facts to their face. I had to put my fighting footage to their face.

• 35:00Speaker 04

  I had to put my gold medals all up in their face, my belt all up in their face, so they know, y'all cannot deny me. You may not like me because I'm dark skinned, or I'm, or I'm outspoken, or I'm from Flint, or I'm just too much of a, of, of an aggressive female, you think, but you will not keep this from me. You're gonna give me my recognition because I earned it. I am the best. And I had to put it in everybody's face, so they know I'm the fucking best. Accept it, acknowledge it, and give me my props because I work hard for it. But had I not said it, they would have me number 10 on Pounce Palace.

• 35:37Speaker 04

  I probably wouldn't even be on there. It got men that put me on the men's promise. But it was like, I had to show them like, hold up.

• 35:46Speaker 04

  Two Olympic gold medals, five divisions, three time undisputed. The only boxer in history. I had to let them know, even though y'all may not think it's a big deal, but this is history, it's history, it's legacy, and it means a lot.

• 36:01Channing Crowder?

  I, I love that you brought up Serena. Cause I remember when, what was her name? Maria Sharapova was getting all that watch money. She was the face of tennis. Oh, she's the face of tennis and Serena was wearing her ass out. And you watching TV and looking at Maria Sharapova, I'm like, what about Serena? Do you, but to that point, like you said, and you laid it out perfectly. You make, correct me if I'm wrong, your personality makes people uncomfortable.

• 36:32Speaker 04

  Yeah, absolutely.

• 36:33Channing Crowder?

  Are you trying to change that? Could you change that? Could you, would you, you've loved, and even in the movie, you talk about it like, as a, as a young girl, where you were losing money because you weren't acceptable to mainstream, whatever sports fans.

• 36:49Speaker 04

  Listen, Lord, just, Lord, take my words and deliver them the right way. I can't help that these motherfuckers is soft. I can't. I, listen, I cannot. They soft, they're intimidated. These men is mad that I can beat some of them up. These other girls is mad because they ain't got no confidence. They ain't got no self-esteem. And then they, and then they come being mad at me because I got self-esteem. I'm confident, I'm strong, I believe in myself. I'm passionate about what I do and they want me to change that. I'm sorry, I am not changing that. I'm sorry, if it make people uncomfortable.

• 37:31Speaker 04

  It's cool. It's alright to be uncomfortable. Some stuff make me uncomfortable. I still deal with it. They just gonna have to deal with it. And if they don't wanna deal with me, block me.

• 37:42Speaker 04

  Block with me. Don't talk to me. Don't talk about me. Leave me alone because I'm gonna make millions regardless. Whatever God has for me, he has for me. That's why this fight with Laila Ali gonna get made.

• 37:55Channing Crowder?

  What, do you, but you fully understand that being that way is affecting your bank accounts?

• 38:02Speaker 04

  No, it's affecting the people that don't like me. But as far as bank accounts, I am a businesswoman. I don't do nothing that, if anybody that has a company or a business, wh- what is their reason?

• 38:15Channing Crowder?

  Cause you make them feel uncomfortable. I answered for you to ask the question.

• 38:17Speaker 04

  No, no. So, so you talking about, talking about companies. What, I wanna know from you, cause I don't know. Well, I do know something, but what, but what makes you think that what I do makes them, makes them uncomfortable? From, from your perspective?

• 38:31Channing Crowder?

  You just laid it out. You are a confident, they can call it arrogant. You are an outspoken black woman, dark-skinned black woman. Their fanbase, or their, their supporters, their crew, their customers, their consumers, might not feel comfortable with that. That's why I love that you brought up Serena Williams. She had to fight through that. Being a confident, the movie with, um, what, King Richard?

• 38:56Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 38:57Channing Crowder?

  When he walked up like, "My damn daughter just told you she bout to win. Stop asking that damn question." Like, that confident black woman scares some people. And there has to be an advocate for that person. And to your point, you have to do, it's been said a thousand times, two times as much to get half of what they get.

• 39:16Speaker 04

  Right. So my, so my, so you saying that because I'm confident, it makes them feel, it makes companies feel uncomfortable?

• 39:21Channing Crowder?

  Their consumer, they trying to make money. So if they give you 10 million, they need to make 30 million.

• 39:26Speaker 04

  Right.

• 39:27Channing Crowder?

  They need to have a business model to parlay that.

• 39:31Speaker 04

  Listen, if, if my confidence bothers them.

• 39:35Channing Crowder?

  That's a, that's a reflection of them, not you.

• 39:37Speaker 04

  Yeah. And I honestly feel like...

• 39:42Speaker 04

  Companies are coming my way. Uh, and I, and I will get a bunch of more. I've, I already had endorsements and sponsors and stuff like that. But, but I'm going to get more. But listen, if it's a company that feels like I'm just too confident and, and they don't see my greatness, that's just, that's just on them. But you know, um, God bless people that do see it. You know, that do see me being able to, to, to represent their brand and to bring the money because I know I'm bringing in thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars a month just by myself. You know, and that's just YouTube, um, Instagram, um, endorsements, sponsors. I'm bringing that money just being myself. You know, I, I think that

• 40:25Speaker 04

  we gotta stop putting women in this box and saying this is what a woman is. Look, the image has already been changed up. I'm sitting here, I don't think I look like a boxer. From the stereotype, when I grew up, they all talking about some all women boxers are gay, were butch, where we got strong faces, we got, um, you know, sharp, we look like men, right? That's, that's what they said back then. And then you got women like myself, and then Laila Ali, and then Lysia Baumgartner, and, um, you know, we don't look like men. So I've already defeated that stereotype. So when it comes to them being intimidated, I thought they were intimidated by

• 41:05Speaker 04

  the way that I fight, which that's not going to change. I'm only going to get better, bigger and stronger and faster each fight. But if you, if you like me, you like me. It's okay to be disliked. I don't know how people want me to, to not be okay with that. It's people that I dislike. I have a question for you.

• 41:24Channing Crowder?

  Because no one could be more confident than Floyd Mayweather. And they don't criticize him.

• 41:30Speaker 04

  Me and him, neck and neck. Everybody, everybody criticized.

• 42:03Ryan Clark?

  I have a question for you, though. Channing was sort of talking about these attributes that you have, right? You're confident, you're strong. Some of that is also aggression, anger. These are things that could sometimes be difficult for a relationship. You're in a very public relationship.

• 42:22Speaker 04

  Oh, tell me about it.

• 42:23Ryan Clark?

  Now, with Pat Pooch.

• 42:24Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 42:25Ryan Clark?

  What has that adjustment been like for you? The back and forth with his ex, you guys being publicly together now? You saying recently, as in on our show, you plan to have children. What has that adjustment been like to be in such a public relationship with Pat Pooch?

• 42:46Speaker 04

  You know, it's, well, one, he's a great man, you know? And I think it takes a certain type of strong man to be able to deal with me. And, you know, deal with me inside the ring, outside the ring, getting ready for a fight, even not in camp for a fight. It's so many different people or women you have to deal with to be able to deal with me. And I think he does that very well. Public relationship, like I said, it's, I don't know how anything ever stemmed to be a problem because she's publicly came out and said that she was with somebody since 2022, outside of their union.

• 43:27Speaker 04

  So if that's the case, how do I meet somebody in 2024 who you said you ain't even been with, whatever the case may be? And then you start throwing shots at me, making it seem like I'm somebody that came and disrupted a happy household when I didn't. That's not what happened. So, you know, I think that it's a lot of, like I've said before, and I'll say it again, women can be very emotional. I'm a woman. But I think some women are more emotional than me. And I think that... Some people like the whole back and forth and to try to make it seem like it's something over of me and her going at it or I don't think I've ever really went at it with her, I feel like.

• 44:10Speaker 04

  I feel like I've, I've had to defend myself up on certain things. But it's like, me and him are solid. Like, we, we know what goes on in our relationship. Like, he's probably done called me three, four times sitting here right now. Because I don't think he know I'm supposed to be doing this interview. But me, but me and him haven't missed a day of talking to each other since we met July 6th, 2024, at the Core Fight. So, when we met up in, what was in Newark, New Jersey, at the fights, we haven't not talked to each other since then. So, we talk to each other every single day. He's flying out here tomorrow. Like, I just left New Jersey. When I was at the fights in New York, I was with him.

• 44:55Speaker 04

  We always together, we're always connected. So, it's not like we're fighting over a, a, a man or anything like that. Like, that's a stupid narrative. I'm a, I'm a grown ass woman and I'm a good looking woman who's successful. I don't gotta fight over no man. Real talk. I can get any man that I want, if we being honest. But I chose him, he chose me, and we're together. It's just that they were like this whole black love thing. And I think that's where like, the fans are kinda stuck at like, oh, this was our black love. This, and, and that's what they were used to, I guess. And then I came into the equation and me and him got together. And, and just to be, be honest, we weren't supposed to be public. We was not supposed to be, be public.

• 45:40Speaker 04

  Um, she did that. Remy did that, you know? And I don't, I don't, I don't even like saying her name because it's more of a thing of like, I ain't got no smoke with you. You know what I'm saying? Unless you want smoke with me. But I don't, I don't got no smoke with you. But she the one who put out text messages and put my number out on her page that got 10 million followers. She did that. Putting everybody in our business, letting them know that me and Pat was together. We were a, um, private relationship since around like August, around that time. And I didn't wanna be public with another relationship until I knew it was marriage and it was kids. Yeah. And that's being honest.

• 46:23Speaker 04

  So, once all that came out, he was like, what's up? Damn. Just gonna, just gonna blow up my damn spot. And, and, and, and, and like the thing was, we were exclusive, but it was like, when it comes to celebrity relationships, one minute they together, one minute they not. So it was like, I wanted to be with him privately, and then we broke up, we break up privately. I didn't want people to be like, aw shit.

• 46:48Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 46:49Speaker 04

  You know, so, when that happened, I was like, God. Damn, this lady is.

• 46:56Fred Taylor?

  All up in your sauce.

• 46:57Speaker 04

  Man, I was like, why you did that? But, in a way, like, like I said, I don't, I don't, I don't understand it because I know for a fact that they weren't like, together.

• 47:07Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 47:07Speaker 04

  But, it was more of a thing, like, damn, you know, I wanted us to come out when we was ready, or you know, at least like, he's filed for divorce now. You know, but it's like, it still takes time, you know, so just with that, it's like, dang, we gotta, you know, I have to go through this, uh, some, people love us together, but it's still like a little public scrutiny or whatever. And, it's like, I gotta go through this stuff, and I ain't even wanna be public, bro.

• 47:34Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, it's, it's, much like you, the internet is undefeated. Like, if it's there to be found, they gonna find it. But I do wanna take a minute to give Papoose his love. Mainstream didn't do him the service, he's definitely one of the dopest rappers I've ever heard.

• 47:48Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 47:48Fred Taylor?

  Uh, but, I also like the way R.C. transitioned from the ring, you know, from everything chaotic, right? The business, behind the boxing, boxing, the ring, into life. What does the quote, what do you do for yourself to, to find peace? Away from all that chaos?

• 48:08Speaker 04

  I spend time with my family, I spend time with my man, I put my phone down. I put my phone down, I read my bible. I be around, I surround myself with people that love me, you know what I'm saying? And who I love. And, I'm, listen, anywhere that we go, me, my family, my friends, they know. I get a lot of attention, but I deal with it well, but I'm like the life of the party, everywhere we go. I, I can go to a kid's party, the kid's gonna be like, we had so much fun with Claressa. Cause I'ma dance, I'ma get you hot dogs and cake and stuff, and we're gonna have a good time. And that's what I'm about, I'm about using my time, you know, wisely, because I grew up in a household,

• 48:50Speaker 04

  after I was sexually abused, I stayed with my grandma until I was 10. So I was like an only child from the age of 5 till 10. And living with my grandma, she showered me with so much, you know, love and taught me how to talk and, you know, just is very, very patient with me and taught me a lot of things. I want to be that for my family. So even though she's not here, I'll never forget how she made me feel. So I make my nieces and my nephews and my family and them feel that same way when I'm around them. So that's what I do. I just lay back and I just chill, you know, I don't like being the center of attention all the time. But it seems like that just gravitate toward me all the time. It's like I can go to a boxing match and I can sit and the nosebleeds.

• 49:34Speaker 04

  People still find a way to let everybody know that I'm there.

• 49:37Ryan Clark?

  Whoa, because you're the best woman fighter in the world.

• 49:40Speaker 04

  I know, but I, but I, but I can hide and they, and they still gonna be like, who is this lady over here hiding?

• 49:45Ryan Clark?

  Girl, I just saw you at Shakur, Shakur fight. You do not hide. You be fired up at the fight.

• 49:51Speaker 04

  First of all, oh, oh, oh, oh, Shakur shot them all up, didn't he?

• 49:55Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he did.

• 49:56Speaker 04

  Yeah, Shakur, Shakur, Shakur. Listen, they've been doubting him for so long and I know how great he is. I know how great he is. And when I seen him go off, first of all, that's my little brother. You know what I'm saying? He looked at me so many times when he was fighting just to check with me. And when I gave him the thumbs up, I seen a different energy come over him and I'm like, yeah, you fucking him up. Keep it up. And that's the thing of like, he's been the same way at my fights. We cheered for each other during the Olympics. We cheered for each other at bad tournaments, Pan Ams. And I just know that it was needed for me to be there.

• 50:37Speaker 04

  And I told him I was gonna be there and we had been texting the whole time leading up to this fight. Leading up to most of his fights, but this one in particular. And. Like I, like I said, he needed to know that regardless, like that I had his back, you know what I'm saying? And that's why I was there. I wasn't, first of all, they gave me that attention because I'm the greatest woman of all time, they put me on the camera, all this other stuff. But I was fired up because it was like, all y'all Mexicans in here talking about Shakur finna get his ass whooped. He bout to get knocked out. This is the end of the hype train. And then, y'all get all quiet when he start whooping his boy ass. Oh, when he done, just make some noise.

• 51:16Ryan Clark?

  Also too, you talked about, like, Fred mentioned undefeated, right? Do you have an allergy to being close to boxers that take L's? Because this completes the trilogy for us. We've had Shakur on the show, we had Bud on the show, and now we finally have you. And there's a cool picture of the three of you guys

• 51:39Speaker 04

  At the fight.

• 51:40Ryan Clark?

  Together at the fight.

• 51:41Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 51:42Ryan Clark?

  Like, talk about that relationship of being close to Bud, who I think is the best male fighter in the world right now. An undefeated young fighter like Shakur and yourself, what's that relationship like?

• 51:58Speaker 04

  Man, it's, so Shakur think he's my big brother, but he my little brother, okay? He's younger than me. But he think he my big brother. And then like with Terrence, just, it's like we got, it's like, it's like we twins almost. Like we got the same mindset. I can watch an interview and I could be like, yeah, Terrence lying right there.

• 52:20Speaker 04

  You know, and I text him like, that was a good one. You know, and I think that, um, us being so like-minded, we all can kind of give each other great advice. Like the advice that, you know, I think that you were trying to give, like, maybe I should

• 52:35Channing Crowder?

  Play the game a little more.

• 52:37Speaker 04

  Yeah, right? And I, and I, and I hear that because I have played it now. I have switched up my, my appearance and made, made sure I look softer and I do be nicer and all this stuff. And, but it's like, I can't help that I'm, I'm still a beast inside the ring. But they want you to be pretty inside the ring and I just can't do that. I seen girls fight with lashes and makeup, I'm not doing that. Alicia fought with a corset on, her TV kept popping out, I'm not doing that. I'm, I'm being honest. You watched it?

• 53:05Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 53:06Speaker 04

  She kept having, I'm like, man, she wore a corset? Why she wearing a corset? But

• 53:13Speaker 04

  It's different coming from you and then hearing it from Terrence. Because we the same. He go through the same stuff that I go through in like the sport of boxing. He didn't get his recognition until he beat Spence. And then they still tried to play him. So now he done stepping all the way up to fight against Canelo. And people called me crazy when I went to heavyweight and I jumped up three different weight classes. Now he jumping up.

• 53:38Ryan Clark?

  Does Bud win that fight? Does Bud beat Canelo?

• 53:40Speaker 04

  Bud absolutely beats Canelo. Hundred percent.

• 53:43Ryan Clark?

  Why?

• 53:44Speaker 04

  Skills. Skills and just knowing the art of fighting. Bud wanna hurt you. He wanna hurt you. He wanna dominate you. And then people don't know, the more doubters that we have, when I say we, me, Terrence, Shakur, the more doubters that we have, the more fuel it is to the fire. It's actually good to be disliked. It's good to have the haters because the more y'all it is, the more greater we gonna be. The more greater we gonna perform. And that's what we have in common.

• 54:17Ryan Clark?

  I love that. Bud's also mean as hell.

• 54:20Channing Crowder?

  I was gonna say.

• 54:21Ryan Clark?

  He just mean all the time.

• 54:23Speaker 04

  No he not.

• 54:24Channing Crowder?

  Well, he must not like us too.

• 54:26Ryan Clark?

  He always wanna compete.

• 54:29Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 54:30Ryan Clark?

  He wanna bump into you all the time.

• 54:32Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 54:32Ryan Clark?

  Nah, I don't know.

• 54:33Speaker 04

  I'm like that with my friends. That mean we like you.

• 54:37Channing Crowder?

  I gotta ask, cause you cool with Bud. How were you pre-fight? Cause we went to Spence, Bud, right? We go to mess with Spence. He in there got music playing, people having a good time, we dapping him up, we talking.

• 54:48Speaker 04

  Bud, complete opposite.

• 54:51Channing Crowder?

  Complete opposite? It was a funeral in there. Everybody's looking at the ground, Bud just airboxing. I'm like, man.

• 54:58Ryan Clark?

  It was quiet, it was silent though.

• 55:00Channing Crowder?

  Dead silence in the entire preparation. What side are you on more?

• 55:05Speaker 04

  Every fight that I have, it's a parking lot party in the back before I come out to the fight. We in the back, we got music, we dancing, we taking pictures, we got videos. I don't get where I need quietness and where I need like super focused about 20, 30 minutes before the fight. And then that's when I put everybody out, hey, see y'all, hugs, kiss, see y'all after the fight. You know, and I have about maybe five, six people in the back with me. Bud. Hell no, I be, I'm the complete opposite of Bud. Bud, he was at my fight, he was at my last fight, he was like, yo, what the heck? He like, you got kids back here? You got, you got people with their cameras out back here like? I'm like, this makes me be relaxed.

• 55:50Speaker 04

  When I see familiar faces, I see my friends, my family, I see my supporters, people that I'm close with. That's what I'm comfortable with. I don't, I don't like it all quiet and stuff. Like, because I'm doing something that I, that I enjoy doing. Like, I love fighting, so it's like, I'm actually, everybody back there to keep me calm. Cause it's like, I'm not calm at all. I'm like, so excited to do this, like, okay, so no, I fight July 26th, and I'm so excited in the back room, I'm just like, I could dance and party all night. But I be having, everybody be like, I'm like, yeah, y'all do it then, you dance.

• 56:26Ryan Clark?

  Hey, well, Chan went there, we walked in there, we said, hey, oh, may y'all be good, God bless.

• 56:33Channing Crowder?

  Listen, I'm scared of Bud's sons. That whole family got an attitude to it. How you doing, buddy? Slapped the back of my hand, I said, okay.

• 56:44Speaker 04

  I don't know which, I don't know which kid it was in his, man. I was at one, I was at, who fight I was at, man? I think, I think I was at Shakur's fight. And one of his kids was like, you, you the girl that boxed, ain't you? I'm like, yeah, I'm Claressa. He was like, yeah, we, we be watching you. And I was like, alright, cool. And he was like, you think you'd beat my dad up? And I was like, no, I don't think so. He was like, you can't.

• 57:14Speaker 04

  No, and I was like, okay.

• 57:18Channing Crowder?

  He pumped me at the gym. All the little boys were pumping me at the gym. Hey, big man, how you doing? Ain't nobody worried about you.

• 57:26Speaker 04

  Right, they just got that in them, they so funny.

• 57:29Ryan Clark?

  Nah, yeah, like Shakur was like, super nice and chill. With Bud, I didn't know, like, nah, we super cool. He beat me in a, a shooting competition in basketball the other day. I'm gonna work on my jumper, we gonna get that back after Canelo fight.

• 57:42Speaker 04

  I think I saw that.

• 57:43Ryan Clark?

  Okay, that's a lot. It's not.

• 57:45Speaker 04

  And then, and then I, and then I seen him grab on Shannon Sharp. You know, if it was more, if it was more girls that was in this field, I would do that to them.

• 57:55Ryan Clark?

  First off, Claressa, you can't just be grabbing on regular women. Like on women that report, like you, you can't do that.

• 58:04Speaker 04

  I mean, it's just all funny games, right?

• 58:07Channing Crowder?

  Grab on regular people, don't touch me. I done seen how you do people, don't touch me.

• 58:12Ryan Clark?

  So you mentioned July 26th, Lonnie Daniels, Muay Thai background, right? Punches that come from all over the place, she walks forward, she's tough. Tell us about what we can expect from the quote on that night against a tough opponent.

• 58:27Speaker 04

  I am in such great shape for this fight. No stone has been left unturned. I've watched so much footage of Lonnie and I'm hoping that she thinks, you know, it's a myth that I, that I can't punch. It's a myth that, you know, I'm too small to be at heavyweight. You know, I'm, I'm hoping that she believes those things and that she come in there being aggressive, throwing from all different angles. And honestly, she's gonna get caught. I'm just, I'm too fast, I'm too sharp. And we got 19,000 that's gonna be in the building. I'm being walked up by Rick Ross. It, it's gonna be, it's gonna, it's gonna be a movie, but I am telling you, Lonnie is in a world heater trouble and I'm, and I'm looking forward to seeing what,

• 59:12Speaker 04

  seeing what she brings to town because she said she gonna knock me out up in the ninth round. And all I'm, and all I'm thinking is, well, I guess we won't, we won't be making it to the ninth.

• 59:23Ryan Clark?

  Well, she said something about a stretcher and everything, though.

• 59:25Speaker 04

  I'm gonna put her on one. I'm gonna put her on one. Cause she, you know, when these girls come, I really wish that it's best if they don't talk trash. Because I already don't like them anyway. From, I'm already gonna do them, how I'm gonna do them without the trash talk. Now with the trash talk involved, now you done really turned me up. You gonna knock me out, okay. But my niece right there, my mama, okay.

• 59:51Speaker 04

  Now you done, now you done really set me off.

• 59:53Fred Taylor?

  You, you already got your song picked out with Rose?

• 59:55Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 59:56Fred Taylor?

  It's a secret, can we get a snippet?

• 59:59Speaker 04

  Um, you know, one, one, come on now, why, why, why wouldn't I come out to I'm a Boss?

• 1:00:03Ryan Clark?

  How about this?

• 1:00:04Speaker 04

  It doesn't, it doesn't make sense to not?

• 1:00:06Fred Taylor?

  It makes all the sense.

• 1:00:07Speaker 04

  But I also have my Ali chant, I have my whoop that trick. And then I have, I think I'm gonna do I'm a Boss with another song cause I heard that big, I heard that big meat is coming to the fight, so.

• 1:00:19Fred Taylor?

  Uh-oh, that's pretty dope.

• 1:00:21Speaker 04

  I'm gonna turn them up.

• 1:00:24Fred Taylor?

  So let's pivot real quick because this is my favorite question on the show. We always ask our guests, what's your biggest pivot? That's that moment you can go back to and look on and say, without this happening, I wouldn't be who I am.

• 1:00:38Speaker 04

  I don't know why I always go back to this, but it is one of the most crazy things that, okay, I was 15 and I had a coach named Gene Gill. I call him my uncle now. That was my, one of my coaches coming up. And I was 15 and I think I had got mad about something in the gym. And I just went off. You know, when I used to get mad, like I used to throw chairs, try to fight people. My anger was real bad, you know? And I remember Coach Gene telling me after I went off and stuff. And he said, "Rex, you got all the boxing skills in the world. You boxed like a man. You, you was a great fighter." But he said, "But if you don't change your attitude, you ain't never gonna make it nowhere."

• 1:01:21Speaker 04

  And I looked at him and I, even though I was pissed, I was just like,

• 1:01:26Speaker 04

  hm. And I remember him saying that and it stuck with me. And I was like, dang, I gotta get better control of my anger. You know, because I ain't, I think I probably got beat up in sparring or something. But I had whooped so much ass in sparring before, it was like, you, you fucking get beat up one time, now you having to fit. And I just remember him telling me that. And from there, I started working on having a better attitude. And yeah, I'm gonna get angry, but I said, what do you do when you get angry? I think that was a big pivot in my life when I was 15. I think that that kind of, my, my anger still needed work from the time, you know? I think my anger got really, I got control of it when I was probably about 23.

• 1:02:08Speaker 04

  But I remember up at 15 when I, when I started changing and I said, you know what? I started realizing like, you know, you know, back in the day, had this happened to me, I would have handled this like this. Now me being my age now, and I look at when I was 15, I said, I handle things way, way, way better now.

• 1:02:26Fred Taylor?

  It takes discipline.

• 1:02:27Speaker 04

  Yeah, so that was, I think that that was the pivot for me. Because I mean, people do stuff on purpose to piss you off.

• 1:02:33Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 1:02:34Speaker 04

  You know, for me, every, every single day. And people been waiting on me to get on social media and crashed out screaming at the camera, crying, yelling and screaming. And I'd be like, I'd grab my phone, I'd be like, yeah, I'm about to do it. I'm about to cuss this motherfucker out today. And I get on there and I'd be like, oh.

• 1:02:50Ryan Clark?

  It ain't worth it. I saw you, I saw you say, you know, you, you, you, how many things you had to type and delete sometimes. In order to not say certain things. I'm kind of the same way, so.

• 1:03:03Speaker 04

  Listen, it, it is a, it's a skill. But it, it's hard to do, but people think I just write the first thing that comes to my mind. I think now I'm like, I write like maybe the third thing. But it still be like, it gotta get, it gotta get out, but I try to word it a certain, a certain way and think, and think things through. But you know, sometimes too, you just got to, you just got to handle stuff, but I believe in handling stuff in person. I don't, I don't believe in internet is the place to handle things.

• 1:03:32Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, we've seen it. I just want to say, you know, I, I touched on it a little bit earlier. Claressa Shields, greatest woman of all time. What you overcame at five years old. Overcoming a, a speech impediment, to be able to sit here and be as articulate and communicative as you are today. To be able to get your point across in a way where it's clear and it won't be misunderstood by anybody. I think you're an example of what perseverance look like. I look forward to watching you again. If I was Lonnie Daniels, I wouldn't say the ninth round because I tried to get it over much earlier than that because nobody want to get beat on that long, you know what I mean?

• 1:04:15Ryan Clark?

  But it's been amazing to watch you progress to be who you are and I just look forward to what you do in the future. We appreciate you.

• 1:04:22Speaker 04

  And thank y'all for coming in. It's been a long time.

• 1:04:25Ryan Clark?

  Yeah. Now we got the trilogy now and I'm gonna tell Bud, he's still the meanest one of the three of y'all though.

• 1:04:30Speaker 04

  No, listen, I definitely give him that.

• 1:04:34Speaker 04

  But he's not a mean guy though. I think that he's, he's, you know, he just, he just want to play fight and wrestle. And all the time. Me personally, him is the core of both like that. I tell him all the time, don't touch me.

• 1:04:51Ryan Clark?

  Hey, you heard that? Don't touch her, but hey, somebody gonna get touched up on the 26.

• 1:04:56Fred Taylor?

  If you want to vent, you always can come back on with us.

• 1:04:59Speaker 05

  Maybe after the fight, I can be back with Tony.

• 1:05:01Ryan Clark?

  She was cold.

• 1:05:26Speaker 06

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now, it's your time.

• 1:05:37Speaker 07

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