Ring Magazine 'decision remains the same'; Flint boxer Claressa Shields stripped of title

Well, that's that, apparently.

One day after Flint boxer Claressa Shields was blindsided by a report from Ring Magazine that she would be stripped of her 154-pound Ring belt, Shields' manager, Mark Taffet, on Friday told The Detroit News that Ring Magazine confirmed the decision and said that it would not be reversed.

The report from Ring Magazine Thursday said "(Shields) has not fought at 154 pounds for over 18 months and has no apparent plans to return to the weight any time soon. Therefore, she was stripped from her Ring belt..."

Shields (12-0, 2 KOs), who looks to defeat arch-rival Savannah Marshall and become an undisputed champion at 160 pounds for a second time on Oct. 15, declared on social media that she had done no such vacating. Taffet confirmed that Shields' entire camp was caught off guard by the report. Taffet told The News he would seek further clarification Ring, which he got Friday — and it wasn't what he'd hoped.

"They recognized that they should have communicated with Claressa and I earlier in the process and expressed their apologies for that," Taffet told The News.

"They said their rules do not allow a fighter to hold a Ring belt in two weight divisions (while being) inactive in one of those divisions for 18 months...so we remain the Ring belt champion at 160."

Further amplifying the confusion was the fact that Shields, 27, won the very first 154-pound Ring title, which doesn't operate under the protocols of belts given out by other sanctioning bodies, such as IBF or WBO. Those organizations will typically communicate with their champions and gather information on their plans in the division.

But Ring Magazine is a "ranking organization," Taffet said, and clarified that Ring belts — which are fairly new in the women's division — aren't typically awarded to the winner of a particular fight unless it includes the clear No. 1 and 2 fighters of the division. It's not exactly a belt you fight for, per se, but more so an honor distinguished upon you.

"Even if a Ring belt in a division is vacant, they will only say the winner of an upcoming fight will receive the belt if, in their minds, both fighters are worthy right now to be a Ring champion," Taffet said.

So when Shields became the undisputed 154-pound champion in March 2021 by defeating Marie-Eve Dicaire and winning the IBF and WBA titles, she also won the inaugural 154-pound Ring title, because the fight was between Ring Magazine's No. 1 and 2 154-pound fighters at the time.

WBO, WBC, WBA and IBF all communicated with Shields about her plans at 154 pounds. Since she wanted to pursue a second undisputed championship at 160 pounds, Shields in late 2021 vacated all her belts at 154 pounds — besides the Ring belt — as to not hold up the division.

Ring Magazine, however, didn't communicate with Shields' camp through the end of her 18-month term as 154-pound champion, according to Taffet. He said nobody was made aware that Ring was looking to free up the belt for an upcoming bout between No. 1-ranked Dicaire and No. 2-ranked Natasha Jones.

As of Friday, it has been 18 months and 25 days since Shields last fought at 154 pounds.

Shields owns every belt at middleweight — including The Ring title — besides the WBO belt, which she can capture from Marshall in BOXXER: LEGACY - Shields vs. Marshall at the O2 in London. Shields had previously become the undisputed world champion at middleweight when she defeated Christina Hammer in April 2019.

"Claressa will focus her energy on Savannah Marshall and making more history on October 15 by becoming a three-time undisputed world champion, and then will continue to make history in every fight as the greatest female fighter of all time."

Shields has previously said that she plans to return to MMA, where she has a 1-1 record, at the Professional Fighters League Finals in November. It's unclear if her next steps include returning to 154 pounds.

Shields has already been the undisputed champion at 154 pounds, and while she's currently making a run at the undisputed middleweight title for a second time, her rivalry with Marshall might factor into her desire to double back on that accomplishment. Marshall handed Shields the only loss of her 65-fight amateur career at the 2012 AIBA Women's World Championships.

Still, Shields currently seems open to returning to 154 pounds.

"Honestly, of course, one fight at a time," Shields posted to Twitter Thursday night," but after I beat Marshall I have no problem going back to 154 and giving all the new champs smoke..."

Shields is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and is currently the 160-pound WBA, WBC, IBF, WBF and Ring champion. She has held 12 belts across three weight classes, 154, 160 and 168 pounds and is the fastest boxer in history — male or female — to do so.

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @nolanbianchi