“Do I think Claressa Shields is very talented and one of them rare female athletes? Yes. But she’s also a terrible representative for women’s boxing and doesn’t uplift women’s boxing like Katie Taylor or Amanda Serrano.”

That criticism cuts deeper than complaints about Shields being loud or confident. Her promotional style routinely relies on diminishing another woman to elevate her own position.

Look at her recent targets. Shields questions Tamm Thibeault’s professional experience and calls for Lauren Price before Price has developed into a major attraction. Outside the ring, she trades insults with retired pioneer Laila Ali and has turned Alycia Baumgardner into a bitter enemy. Too many interactions become contests over attention, status, and ownership of the “GWOAT” label.

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano used an entirely different formula. Their rivalry elevated both fighters through competitive bouts and mutual respect. Mainstream viewers saw that women’s boxing could support multiple attractions without one woman trying to discredit the other.

Taylor never needed to belittle Serrano to protect her position. Serrano’s profile grew in defeat because the quality of their fights established her as Taylor’s equal, regardless of the official results.

Promoting Claressa Shields is not the same as growing women’s boxing.

Her defenders point to her calls for equal pay and better opportunities. Those efforts deserve credit. A genuine ambassador, however, also creates interest in the contenders coming behind her. Shields rarely praises another woman without qualifying the compliment, asserting her dominance, or explaining why that fighter is beneath her.

That approach keeps her loyal supporters engaged, but it gives everyone else another reason to reject her.

JR’s broader concern hits the mark. Taylor is approaching the final chapter of her career, leaving women’s boxing without a clear successor who combines drawing power, professionalism, and broad appeal. Serrano is also 37.

Shields owns the credentials to carry the sport. What she lacks is Taylor’s ability to make viewers invest in the opponent, the rivalry, and the event rather than one personality.

Building women’s boxing requires creating stars beyond yourself. Shields remains far more interested in guarding her own pedestal.