Katie Taylor Dismisses Fighting Claressa Shields Due To Weight Difference

Katie Taylor doesn’t see a bout with Claressa Shields ever materializing.

Taylor and Shields are both undisputed champions in their respective weight classes. Taylor holds all the major gold in the female lightweight division, while Shields rules the roost at junior-middleweight. Some have played fantasy matchmaking when it comes to Taylor vs. Shields but a dose of reality has set in.

During her appearance on SiriusXM’s The Ak & Barak Show, Taylor said the difference in weight is simply too great for a bout with Shields to be feasible (h/t BoxingScene.com).

“It’s a pity that Claressa hasn’t got the dance partners, really, at that weight, well, besides maybe Savannah Marshall at the moment. But I walk around at maybe 139 pounds. I’m not the biggest lightweight in the world, so I don’t think that fight would ever happen. It’s too much of a weight discrepancy. And it’s a pity, really, because obviously it is a dream fight for a lot of people. But there’s just too much of a weight difference.”

Back in March, Shields said that she’d consider cutting the weight to fight Taylor if the money is right.

“Katie Taylor is not the worry in that sentence, the 147 is. Katie is a great fighter. They gotta pay me a lotta money for me to lose my butt to go down to 147. Like, at the end of the day, I’m a woman and that’s something that I love about my body. I might not have no big breasts, but I’ve got a nice butt. And I will lose that going to 147, so they need to come with that dough, and I’ll be seeing Katie at 147, as long as they come at least with a million. Talk to me nice.”