Claressa Shields hopes to break through as boxing's first female star

LAS VEGAS - She had already completed two workouts with still another to go, and it was time for a nap.

But something - rather someone - caught Claressa Shields' eye. It was her mentor and idol, Andre Ward, days away from a career-defining fight, fulfilling the obligations that come along with promoting a pay-per-view fight.

In this instance, Ward was going through a satellite media tour. A thoughtful interview, the 32-year-old fielded question after question with usual aplomb. So Shields told her team the nap - and meal - could wait.

The Flint native sat in the MGM Grand media room for 45 minutes and witnessed how an elite athlete handles such obligations.

Of course, Shields, 21, hopes to be in Ward's position one day. And soon. T hat journey to break through for women in boxing starts Saturday with the two-time Olympic gold medalist's pro debut against Franchon Crews on the "freeview" before Ward's light heavyweight title fight against Sergey Kovalev.

"I'm going to fight on HBO; I'm going to fight on Showtime," Shields, who will fight in a four-round bout at 168 pounds, guaranteed during a sit-down with USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. "When? Who knows. But I know I'm definitely respected by those companies as a great boxer, and boxing needs stars."

To this point, though, a woman has never appeared on either network's championship boxing program. That includes Laila Ali, the daughter of Muhammad Ali.

Of course, Ronda Rousey broke through for women in mixed martial arts, and perhaps there's a blueprint there for Shields.

With her good looks and incredible charisma, Rousey established herself as a brand in UFC.

"I know for a fact that I bought something (PPV) that Ronda Rousey was on," said Shields, who is co-managed by former HBO Sports PPV czar Mark Taffet. "That's why I know it's not impossible (to break through). … This is not MMA; this is boxing.

"I have a great team around me and I know I'll be able to do what she did. Maybe in that same amount of time and maybe even half. … She didn't win a gold medal - she won bronze. I have two Olympic gold medals."

Shields' impressive amateur pedigree surely helps, but it's going to take a bit more to get over the hump. She admits that there are those in boxing that would rather women don't receive more attention ("I really can't understand them. I don't let my mind think of trying to understand them.")

And Shields is bothered by the fact she often meets boxing fans who say they've never seen her fight despite her status as one of the best amateur fighters to emerge from the USA Boxing program in some time.

But Shields is steadfast she will be the first woman to not just appear on HBO or Showtime, but headline a PPV, much like Rousey in UFC.

"I am an overcomer," she said. "I am resilient. I am strong. I am super determined."

Paulie Malignaggi, a former champion and current analyst for Showtime, believes Shields has the "talent to be that kind of star."

"For Claressa to break the boundary, she needs to be that much more of a bubbly personality," he said. "She has an opportunity to maybe deliver the kind of hype Laila did. It's hard to do it right off the jump. She can brand herself off the two Olympic gold medals.

"From there, try to develop that following little by little. Losing out on the Ali brand was a big loss for female boxing. I thought it could have done more for the female brand. We'll see if Claressa can do it."

Shields realizes Rousey's good looks helped propel her to stardom, and the UFC fighter became a sex symbol of sorts for women athletes. Shields, though, doesn't believe she'll go "that route because I don't want to lose that respect of being a great boxer."

"I did the ESPN body issue, but that was body art," Shields said. "Wearing bikinis and stuff like that, showing a little more than you should? Sex sells basically.

" … But I think I've worked too hard to lose (respect) by someone saying 'oh, she's just another female boxer who gets all this attention because she did this or she did that. I'm strictly boxing. I would do a swimwear shoot, but now where everything is showing, you know what I mean? I don't want people looking at me as a piece of meat, I want to be looked at as a fighter.

"But in the sport of boxing they're still going to look at me as a piece of meat because I've got a big butt and everyone's going to see it on Saturday."

(AP Photo/John Locher)