Christina Hammer vs. Claressa Shields is billed as the most significant bout in women’s boxing history. Hammer shares her thoughts with FanSided.
It’s the eve of the winner take all middleweight boxing bout between dual champions Christina Hammer (24-0, 11 KOs) and Claressa Shields (8-0, 2 KOs). Shields is the favorite who also enjoys the lion’s share of the popularity due to her two Olympic gold medals.
The Saturday Showtime megafight is monumental for women’s boxing, but Hammer has numerous obstacles to overcome.
Hammer is a seasoned boxing veteran. She lacks Shields’ Olympic pedigree, but she has 107 more rounds of professional boxing experience than Shields, yet she is the slight underdog. It doesn’t help that she’s a German citizen fighting in Shields’ home country of the United States.
Shields is becoming a U.S. sports icon and Hammer is widely unknown to American audiences.
The leadup to Hammer vs. Shields has been tumultuous. It’s clear that they don’t like each other and the animosity between them is legitimate. Despite the hostile vibes, Hammer is confident that she can overcome the Shields’ hype.
While many are ready to jump on the Shields’ bandwagon because she is well publicized, it’s always important to have an intimate knowledge of your opponent. Hammer has been a boxing champion for over eight years. There’s a reason for her success.
Hammer is a German citizen, but she’s originally from Kazakhstan. She moved to Germany when she was 1. She picked up boxing at 13 years old, but she also improved her mind along with her body.
“I had a really good education,” Hammer told FanSided. “I studied sports science. It was important for my family and my mother. She pushed me to do it and finish my university. I’m thankful that I listened to her.”
Hammer is a dangerous adversary for Shields because she’s athletic, skilled, and intelligent. She’s knowledgable about her health and her training methods are proven. At 5-foot-11, Hammer is a large middleweight but has no problems making weight.
She enjoys a 3-inch height and reach advantage over Shields. Hammer believes that her physical stature is going to give Shields problems.
Shields’ has previously criticized the amount of movement Hammer utilizes around the ring nicknaming her “Mover.” She intended the name as an insult, but Hammer wears it as a badge of honor.
“I’m a mover, that’s right,” admitted Hammer. “I have good footwork. My reach is better than hers. I have to use every credit I have. She has to catch me if she can. I want to stop her with both of my hands. She says, “you have only one jab.” I have two hands I [will] give everything to stop her.”
Hammer and Shields have constantly countered each other verbally in the build-up to their battle. Hammer was critical of Shields’ weight leading up to their main event.
“We have three weight checking dates 30 days before the fight, one month before the fight, and one week before the fight,” said Hammer. “She was on all of these three dates over the weight. That’s not a good sign for discipline.”
The bad blood between the two was on display in the two episodes of Showtime’s documentary series All Access. In the first episode, Shields accused Hammer of making derogatory comments about and to her friends and family. This is a charge that Hammer vehemently denies.
“I never do this [sic]. I respect every person and every person with a family,” said Hammer adamantly. “I never told her something about her family. Much respect for her. She is coming from nothing and built something up. I never say something about her family. That is very disrespectful, and I’d never do it. I don’t know why she is telling this on television.”
Often, when boxers trade harsh words before a fight, they are trying to intensify interest in the bout. Hammer acknowledged that this is part of the boxing business and it might account for Shields gruff attitude towards her.
“I think it’s normal,” said Hammer. “It’s part of the business. It makes this fight more on fire than any woman’s fight before. I think a lot of people want to see this fight because of this beef. I don’t hate her or have any emotion for her.”
There are a lot of reasons to like Hammer’s chances against Shields. The one blemish on her record is a no contest ruling against Anne Sophie Mathis in 2014. While tied up, Mathis delivered several blows to Hammer’s head. She crumpled to the ground and was unable to continue.
Looking at the footage, many think that Mathis deserved to win by KO, but the judge disqualified Mathis because he felt her blows landed behind Hammer’s head.
The ruling was changed to no-contest later on. Hammer believes that she was fouled but also maintains that she wasn’t in her best shape.
"That was one mistake of my career. This was not a good decision for me to go from middleweight down. I’m too tall for this and I felt so weak for this fight because I cut too much weight. I was so motivated to be champion in three weight classes. I didn’t listen to my coach and that was a mistake. In the fourth round, I won every round and then had punches at the back of my head. It was not a legal punch. It was a long time ago and I learned a lot from this fight."
Regardless of who wins Hammer vs. Shields, they’ve created a tremendous amount of excitement in the boxing world. Their fight is sure to generate a large audience viewing from home. They are elite boxers who don’t like each other.
Everyone wins in this matchup, mainly fight fans and the continued prosperity of women’s boxing.
” I think this is really a game changer for women’s boxing and for the sport,” declared Hammer. “It can inspire every woman to do this sport and believe in yourself that one day if you work hard enough, you can get some of these opportunities.”