Claressa Shields recalls when a male fighter seemingly cheated to knock her out in sparring - "Bad for the sport!"

While Claressa Shields has never been knocked out in her professional boxing career, the same cannot be said about training sessions. In 2018, she was knocked out by a male professional boxer, Arturs Ahmetovs, in sparring by alleged unfair means.

A few days ago, in response to an interview of Shields accusing him of foul play, Ahmetovs uploaded the video of the knockout on his Instagram.

Unsurprisingly, the footage garnered widespread attention and found its way onto X. Suffice it to say the 'GWOAT' was not too happy about it. Responding to the post, the undisputed women's middleweight champion said:

"I’ve never been Ko’d in 17 years and I’ve been dropped 2x all in a week of each other. I have no shame in that. But for a male fighter to literally take the padding out [of] his gloves, he’s a punk. He and coach Derrick Santos are bad for the sport!"

Watch Claressa Shields getting dropped below:

The knockout hasn't deterred her fighting spirit or willingness to share the ring with her male counterparts. Even now, Shields regularly spars male fighters. Interestingly, the 'GWOAT' has even teased a potential mixed-gender fight against former world champion Keith Turman.

With an undefeated record of 14-0, the 28-year-old is considered one of the greatest female boxers ever.

---

When Claressa Shields named male boxers she could beat

Success in any sport results in supreme confidence in one's ability, and such is the case for Claressa Shields. Her exploits in the ring have made her so confident that she firmly believes she can take on many of her male contemporaries.

During a 2019 interview with TMZ Sports, Shields gave a long list of names who she thinks she can trump in the squared circle:

"If I were to say which is the guy I think I could beat, I think I could beat up Keith Thurman, I really do, even though he beat Shawn Porter. I think I could beat Shawn Porter, too."

Shields added:

"They may be stronger than me, but their boxing ability isn't like mine. 'GGG' [Gennady Golovkin] is older now, but I can give 'GGG' a run for his money... I'm not going to say I'm stronger than them, but if I set up the right shot at the right timing [I would win]."

Catch Claressa Shields' comments below (1:09):