When Terence Crawford beat Errol Spence Jr. in July last year, Claressa Shields congratulated ‘Bud’ in the locker room. After Shields called Crawford the pound-for-pound no. 1 and boasted that ‘Bud’ became a two-time undisputed champ, the latter reminded the world that Shields was also a two-time undisputed champion in the sport. This time around, as Shields successfully returned to PFl, ‘Bud’ celebrated the victory on social media.
While Crawford did not witness Shields’ fight live, he was proud of ‘T-Rex’. Therefore, ‘Bud’ shared a post by Shields and publicly reiterated that ‘T-Rex’ overcame significant difficulties in her latest fight.
Terence Crawford praises Claressa Shields for fighting through “adversity”
Despite being the crowd favorite in her return to PFL, Claressa Shields struggled against Kelsey DeSantis, an opponent seven years older than ‘T-Rex’. Since Shields would have preferred boxing, Kelsey DeSantis strategically took the former down in their fight. At one point, the 35-year-old almost made Claressa tap with an armbar. As ‘T-Rex’ herself recounted after the fight, she almost got her arm “snapped”. However, Shields overcame the difficulties to win the contest via SD, leaving ‘Bud’ Crawford impressed.
On that note, Terence Crawford took to Instagram Stories and shared a post by Shields. “GWOAT!!!!” reiterated ‘Bud’. Meanwhile, Claressa Shields admitted that she could not do “everything right” against DeSantis. However, the 28-year-old argued that she did sufficient to win the match. In her opinion, by landing the more effective punches, Claressa Shields fought through “adversity“. Finally, Shields concluded that she would grow and return as an improved mixed martial artist.
Shields cried during camp
Anyway, following the victory against Kelsey DeSantis, Claressa Shields made several posts, celebrating her latest win. However, speaking to Karis McKee, Shields declared she was indebted to her coach and team. “From September to now, it has been nothing but hell. I’m gonna post this video on YouTube, you will be like, ‘Oh my God, Claressa’s crying.’ There were days in camp when I was so frustrated that I would burst into tears,” said Shields.
In addition, Shields declared that the victory meant a lot to her since she had to fight depression before preparing for DeSantis. Likewise, in another post of hers on Instagram, Claressa implied she was a “beast“. In another, Shields proudly declared that she “conquered” DeSantis. In doing so, she thanked her coach Joaquin Murcielago, and God.
