"The world will know my answer... very soon" - Laila Ali says she is receiving multiple multimillion-dollar offers to fight Claressa Shields

Laila Ali is opening up about going "back in the ring" for a bout against Claressa Shields.

In a new interview with Fox 5, Laila opened up about how her potential fight with Claressa Shields came to be. She recalled being previously asked if a showdown would ever happen between the two, to which she suggested thinking about it, but only if she were offered $15 million first. She has since revealed that there's bidding going on.

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"Please don't say her name, cuz when you do, she just pops up," she joked. "It's actually a funny question, and it all came about because I said... that if someone offered me $15-20 million dollars, I would think about it. I would think. And, then of course, the person that you mentioned just inserted herself into the conversation."

She continued,

"But I'll tell you this. Right now, I'm so focused on this and everything that I'm doing... I'm a mom, I'm a wife, I got a lot going on, but the world will know my answer and where I stand with boxing very soon."

Laila Ali opens up about a potential bout between her and Claressa Shields: Here's what we know so far

During another interview with Good Day D.C., Laila Ali, who retired in 2007, echoed the sentiments of being caught off guard by the offers for a bout against Claressa Shields.

“I was asked an impromptu question by one of the boxing blogs like ‘Would you come back?’ And I said for $15-20 million, I’d have to think about it. Not that I want to. I’m not over here thinking about it. You see I’m hosting shows. I got my Laila Ali lifestyle brand, my spice blends. You know, my family. All these things going on and all of a sudden, I start getting all these offers,” she said.

She explained that she has other priorities right now, but acknowledged why fans are eager for her to take up the chance anyway:

“My main purpose right now is to promote [‘Chef Grudge Match’]. That’s my main focus and very soon, the world will know my answer to that in detail because I haven’t answered the question. There’ve been some lies that I responded and I actually haven’t responded purposely […] I call the shots. I do what I wanna do how I wanna do it, but I understand the excitement.”

For those unfamiliar, Claressa Shields, a two-time Olympic champion, previously claimed that,

"Laila is scared to fight me, and I would be scared to fight me, too. I get it."

She also noted that she tried getting in touch with her for a bout, but her team shut down the prospect:

"Laila and her representatives have told us no. Like, the answer is 'no.' She doesn't want to fight. And that's fine. I have no problem with that. I'm not upset. I mean, I wouldn't fight me either. You know what I'm saying? I understand that she's scared. I'm moving on," Shields said.

Claressa Shields claimed that Laila Ali, the daughter of the late Muhammad Ali, is "backpedaling" from the suggestion.

"I thought that she was about all that talk. She wanted $15 million. I went and got the $15 million. And now it's all this backpedaling. So, you know, congrats to her on whatever she's doing. But I'm moving on with my career."

She also claimed that Laila Ali's father, the late boxing legend himself, would have never backed down from a challenge:

"Absolutely, listen, Muhammad Ali would never," Shields said. "Her daddy would never. Her daddy would never. If you called out Muhammad Ali, he was coming to check you, and he was coming to lay hands on you. Maybe she don't have that in her genes."

Claressa Shields then remarked that women's boxing is now defined by its most prolific contenders dueling each other, with the recent bout between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano trilogy being a prime example.

Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.

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