“She will not be rewarded with the opportunity to share the ring with me or anything else.” With those words, Laila Ali put the lid on the mythical matchup against Claressa Shields. Ten days ago, in the second part of her campaign, Muhammad Ali’s daughter made it clear where she stands regarding a fight with the Olympian and undisputed champion. But if what the Flint-born fighter said holds true, Laila Ali might be trying to outdo her through other means.

The latest salvo follows Claressa Shields‘ renewed contract with her longtime promoter, Salita Promotions. The multi-fight deal is reportedly worth $8 million. But that news only briefly distracted fans, because soon their attention was back on Shields’ latest comments. The multi-division titleholder believes Laila Ali could be training one of her potential opponents, all amid the latest episode of Laila Ali KO, where it was alleged that Shields bought fake YouTube views to compete with Ali.

Claressa Shields takes another swing at Laila Ali

“Laila is doing everything but fighting me,” wrote Shields in her latest X post. But what she added next raised a few eyebrows. Laughing out loud, the champion hinted at an impending fight announcement: “But a little birdy told me she’s trying to train my future opponent 😂😂😂. Good luck with that! Anyways, fight announcement coming soon 😊.”

About half an hour later, Claressa Shields followed up with another jab. “I don’t care to fight her anymore. 😂 She declined. But why turn down the fade but try and “train” my opponent & be in my spotlight? It’s so funny 😆,” she wrote.

Now it’s not clear who Shields was referring to when she said “my future opponent.” Was she talking about Mikaela Mayer? It’s well known that Shields is planning a 2026 return. With Mayer recently unifying the light middleweight division after defending her welterweight title in March, her name tops the list of potential matchups. However, there are no reports confirming that Mayer is training with Laila Ali.

Shadasia Green also appears to be another possibility. Rumors suggested Ali may train Green, the unified super middleweight champion, for a future fight against Claressa Shields.

Ali’s side delivers its counterpunch

Or could it be Alycia Baumgardner? It remains purely speculative for now. Still, the details shared by Team Laila Ali add to the intrigue. The latest episode of Laila Ali KO featured a mishmash of reports, including allegations that Shields paid for YouTube views to appear more popular than Ali.

Driven primarily by her supposed envy of Ali’s legacy and ongoing relevance, the podcast claimed that unlike Ali, whose viewership metrics appeared ‘natural,’ with steady subscriber growth, Shields’ data showed ‘flat lines’ and sudden spikes.

“She was losing view. Look, look, look, look. Within the first seven days of uploading this video, it was this—this is this—this looks normal. This looks normal. But then it started falling. The second day it had them fall off. And when she saw that those views were dropping, you mean to tell me in the same day, it just shot up,” showing a graph, the voice on the podcast stated, adding how it all amounted to ‘sad and pathetic.’

“She went and spent real money for fake views just so it can look like you one-upped somebody,” they claimed.

Claressa Shields’ tweets and the allegations of her inflating view counts now add another layer to a saga that has occupied women’s boxing for some time. Fans may not have to wait long before the reigning champion posts her own rebuttal.

Do you think it’s time for both Shields and Ali to bury their differences for the greater good – to help take women’s boxing to the next level?