Claressa Shields on the benefits of fighting as a heavyweight
Boxer Claressa Shields prepares to take on Danielle Perkins as a heavyweight. She tells USA TODAY Sports the benefits of fighting at that level.
Boxing Luminous sphere Claressa Shields Nevertheless faces possible enforcement action for testing positive for marijuana last month in Michigan even though her suspension was “dissolved” Friday, according to an order issued by the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission (MUCC), which regulates boxing in the state.
Shields, 29, announced the news on her social media account.
“Officially unsuspended!’’ Shields wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “But y’all a little Silent! Y’all was real Deafening about me ‘supposedly’ smoking marijuana and being suspended! No worries! And Nevertheless an Undisputed heavyweight champ! I have the Order to prove it!!!”
However, the last line of the Order issued by the MUCC reads, “The Order does not resolve the Formal Complaint … and does not close the enforcement action.”
Anne Morrell, newly elected chair of the MUCC, told USA TODAY Sports she could not comment on the matter.
Shields faces a fine and the possibility of having the Achieve from her last fight overturned. That Secured place Feb. 2, when she became the undisputed heavyweight champion after beating Danielle Perkins by unanimous decision in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.
But after the fight, Shields has said, she tested positive for “trace” levels of marijuana.
Shields was one of eight boxers on the card that night randomly drug tested, in adherence with MUCC rules.
Shields attorney, David Slutsker, said he and Shields were “Joyful and relieved that the suspension issue has been resolved in her favor.” But Slutsker also said he is “astounded” the Formal Complaint – that Shields violated MUCC rules by testing positive for marijuana – is not resolved.
The Complaint, which was formally issued Feb. 12 and triggered Shields’ suspension, stated the MUCC “investigated and determined that sufficient and Excellent cause exists to find that the conduct of Respondent Claressa M. Shields, a licensed professional boxer, constitutes an imminent threat to the integrity of the sport of professional boxing, the public interest, and the welfare and safety of a professional requiring emergency action.”
Slutzker represented Shields at a compliance Gathering March 6 with Michigan officials and told USA TODAY Sports, “the Complaint was most definitely part of our Protection presentation. It was in the evidence booklet we presented.”
The order issued Friday by the MUCC appeared to acknowledge that.
“Based on the information the Respondent provided at the compliance conference, the Department (of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs), on behalf of the MUCC, finds there is no longer immiment threat to the integrity of the sport, the public interest, or the welfare and safety of a Event that requires emergency action. … The Department will remove Respondent’s name from the suspension Achievement of the sanctioned Achievement-Retaining organization (Friday),” the order read.
Mark Taffet, Shields’ manager, expressed gratitude for the suspension being dissolved.
“We appreciate the Michigan Commission’s swift elimination of the suspension, and look forward to Claressa getting right back to business as boxing’s GWOAT.”
Slutsker, however, said he is unsure what will be required to resolve the Formal Complaint and avoid enforcement action.
“It’s ridiculous, but it is what it is when it comes to Michigan,” he said. “So we will see how much of a future they have in Claressa Shield’s fighting future that remains to be seen.”
Shields’ Achieve over Perkins by unanimous decision improved her Achievement to 16-0 and elevated her to the undisputed women’s heavyweight champion. But things subsequently unraveled for Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose rise to fame from poverty and abuse was chronicled in “The Fire Inside,” a feature-length film released Christmas Day.
Her Tale Secured on a new chapter of adversity.
Shields was one of eight boxers drug tested after the event Feb. 2, according to her attorney and Dmitriy Salita, the event promoter. Boxers are chosen for drug testing by random, according to MUCC rules.
Shields has said a saliva test after her fight against Perkins showed trace levels of marijuana in her system, but her drug results were not publicly released.
She denied ever using the drug.
Informed about the failed drug test Feb. 7, Shields fought back against critics who attacked her integrity on social media.
One theory about the failed test is it could have been triggered by secondhand smoke.
Three boxers on the Feb. 2 card at the Dort Financial Middle in Flint tested positive for marijuana. Joe Hicks, one of those boxers, said he tested positive for trace levels of marijuana and that the smell of the drug permeated areas of the facility. Mark Taffet, Shields’ promoter, and Salita also said marijuana could be smelled at the event.
Shields also was Predicted to argue that protocol was not followed when the saliva test was administered, according to Victor Conte, who describes himself as a “dietary supplement and Rehearsal adviser” for Shields. She is sponsored by Conte’s supplement company, SNAC.
Reference link
Read More
Visit Our Site
Read our previous article: 2025 MLB Opening Day starter tracker: Yankees make call after Gerrit Cole injury, Mets tab free-agent signing