The ball is now in Laila “She Bee Stingin’ Ali’s court to either accept the $15m pay cheque or bail out of a proposed showdown against Claressa “T-Rex” Shields.
Ali, the women’s boxing icon, last fought in 2007 when she dispatched Gwendolyn O’ Neill in 56 seconds to successfully retain her WBC and WIBA super middleweight titles in a Golden Gloves-promoted fight at Emperors Palace on February 3.
Asked what could bring her out of retirement, the 47-year-old mother of two said: “The rumour that I heard is that unless somebody has $15, $20m, don’t even call me [about a fight against Shields]. That’s all I got.
“I said unless somebody calls me and says they have it, we’re not even gonna have a conversation.
“I’m not trying to come back and fight, but if someone offered that kind of money, I would actually have to think about it.”
It was after that public comment that Shields, the 30-year-old heavyweight undisputed world champion, wrote: “Really motivated! Now @TheRealLailaAli I’m the GREATEST NOW! Be careful what you ask for! You know I’ve been wanting to make you eat your words! You not a better boxer than me & at 175 I’ll put you on your back! BEEN READY FOR YOU! #GWOAT @claressashields”.
And these weren’t empty words from Shields, the holder of WBC, WBF, IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight belts. She put money where her mouth is by her forking up the $15m that Ali requested. That was shown with a recent video from TMZ in which she said: “Laila, I’m here with my team. I got some great news for you. We got the $15m!
“Let’s make a fight between me and you. The best versus the best. The greats versus the greats. The Greatest Woman Of All Times versus Muhammad Ali’s daughter, Laila Ali. Let’s make it happen.”
There was also more than just the video, as Shields posed with a giant $15m check that’s addressed to Ali, which has since gone viral on social media.
Ali quit boxing after chalking up her 21st knockout over O’Neill, which was her 24th win.
Shields, 30, from Michigan, is the former undisputed middleweight and light-heavyweight champion who is undefeated after 16 fights.
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