Claressa Shields is usually the one embarrassing her opponents inside the ring. This time, however, the ‘T-Rex found herself on the receiving end as a result of an awkward moment—played out on social media for all. The incident unfolded during a YouTube livestream on the Hood Champion Boxing and Sports channel.

During the show, the host was discussing Shields’ finances, tax situation, and her career when an unidentified caller phoned in, upset over what she claimed was a false portrayal of Shields’ financial situation. The fan criticized the show for repeating unverified rumors and questioned why such claims were being circulated without proper fact-checking.

Claressa Shields is tired of all the lies about her

“I’m sitting up here listening to this live, and I see so much misinformation,” the caller said. She took issue with comments about Shields’ finances, asking, “Why are y’all lying, saying that this woman owes tax money—why are y’all lying, saying that her image is ruined?” While highlighting Shields’ career, the caller argued that people were choosing commentary over facts.

“Nobody’s doing any fact checks,” she added, noting that Shields has been in the public eye since she was a child. As the call went on, the caller gradually abandoned her third-person framing, prompting listeners to question whether it was Shields herself who had called in to defend her reputation. When asked about documents allegedly showing Shields owed back taxes, the caller dismissed the claim outright, speaking with a level of certainty that raised further suspicion.

“Very, very false. I know Claressa myself, so therefore no, it’s not true,” she said during the livestream. Moments later, the facade appeared to slip entirely when the caller stated, “You are saying that my tickets aren’t selling… and then you are saying that taxes. And then all this stuff about my image. Literally, in the gym training, running, getting ready for the fight, taking care of the family, and you keep on coming on with more and more lies, and you let them come on your channel and tell more lies.”

The clip of the call quickly went viral across social media, with many fans convinced the caller was Claressa Shields herself. An X account, TeaWithTia, even claimed, “Chile #ClaressaShields was caught calling into a radio show pretending to be a ‘fan’ that was defending her name. Papoose must have been upstairs, and she was downstairs when she called.”

This, however, isn’t the only controversy Claressa Shields has found herself in the middle of.

Shields lashed out at Tasha K over a comment about Papoose

Blogger Tasha K had questioned Papoose’s intentions and finances, suggesting Shields was funding the relationship. In a fiery video response, the undisputed boxing champion slammed Tasha for what she described as a long-standing pattern of tearing down Black women.

“Tasha K and Lesha Dean… y’all are cancers to the Black African-American culture,” Shields said. “All y’all do y’all whole career try to break down Black women and tell lies about them.” Shields fired back, reminding critics of her success and independence. 

“I’m self-made, self-built. I got $8 million. Are you dumb?” she added.

It appears Claressa Shields is being attacked from several directions, which has forced her to come up with unique ways to defend herself. But what did you make of her move to call in pretending to be a fan?