Claressa Shields took it all in under Floyd Mayweather recently.
The reigning WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight champion trained and talked with Mayweather. Shields is set to defend her titles against Ema Kozin on Saturday.
Shields vs. Kozin is part of the event from the United Kingdom that features Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Liam Williams.
This will be her first pro fight in the United Kingdom. Shields captured Olympic gold in London. Ahead of heading to Europe, she trained in Las Vegas.
“The main reason for going to Las Vegas was to get some altitude training. Cardiff has some altitude like Las Vegas, and there’s no altitude in Flint. I wanted to have my lungs feel that burn. I ran at 10,000 feet of elevation,” Shields said. “The opportunity with Mayweather just kind of presented itself. Floyd heard I was coming and he opened up his gym to me and my team. It was great to see him spar and be in his presence. It was great to talk to him too and really see what he’s like.
“Floyd told me I was going in the right direction. Not a lot of U.S. fans get to have the experience of going to see what fans in the U.K. are like. He told me a lot about his experience fighting Ricky Hatton.”
Along with her incredible boxing career, Shields has taken to mixed martial arts. In 2021, she competed twice under the Professional Fighters League banner, going 1-1.
