Claressa Shields “Episode” in Flint Causes a Black Eye on the Sport of Boxing!

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By “The First Lady of Boxing” Jackie Kallen

Everybody and their mother is weighing in on the sucker-punch incident that took place in Flint on Friday that derailed a third title shot for Claressa Shields. As most boxing fans are aware, Shields was set to fight Ivana Habazin for the WBC World Light-middleweight Title. At the weigh-in, Habazin’s trainer Ali Bashir was allegedly handing out some smack talk to the Shields entourage. In retaliation, someone (allegedly Clarissa’s brother) assaulted Bashir when his back was turned, causing him to crash head-first onto the concrete floor, knocking him out cold for over 20 minutes.

The WBC called off the fight and now the fans who bought tickets specifically to see this match-up between 24 year-old Shields and 29 year-old Habazin are very disappointed. There’s no announcement yet of a new date and some are saying that there may not ever be a new date. Understandably, Habazin’s team does not have a very favorable opinion of Shield’s team or the city of Flint.

Shortly after it happened, Shields was on Instagram urging Habazin to take the fight anyhow. Not the greatest advice, in my opinion. Then they were supposedly looking for a replacement opponent. To think that Shields would be allowed to fight and get her purse after the behavior of her team is ridiculous. Incidents like this cannot go unpunished.

Shields has apparently had some good PR advice overnight and today she came out with a very polished, politically-correct letter expressing her regret for the incident.

Part of it includes this excerpt: “My heart is with the team at Showtime and the hundreds of people who invested in my dream and stood behind me when I desired to give back to my hometown.”

I, personally, have many good friends from the Flint area and there are many wonderful, hard-working people there. They have struggled with a horrible economy, unemployment, crime, and the despicable water crisis. They did not need this incident to further sully their already battered image. They deserve better. This event was supposed to boost their image—not destroy it.

In her public letter, Shields states that “This is the reality for my town of Flint and in cities around the world. We are all living with trauma. We live in and among mental illness and addiction.”

That being said, what happened is a black eye for our sport. Smack talk is a part of this business. Press conferences and weigh-ins are often the sites of loud verbal confrontations and sometimes even some shoving. But for a member of a professional fighter’s entourage to put a member of her opponent’s entourage in the hospital and in surgery is unacceptable.

Thankfully, Ali Bashir is not fatally injured. He was able to write to his supporters today. In part, he says, “My intention is to pursue this to the full extent of the law…I am sore, my right cheek is swollen, my jaw feels like a basketball, my vision in one eye is blurry, and an entire row of my top teeth were blown out. There are wild horses running around in my brain. This guy inflicted some serious damage to me.”

Habazin says, “This whole situation is shitty. How can anyone think I’d ever think of going into the ring without my coach? I trained four hard months away from my home for this. All I care about now is the condition of my coach.”

This situation sickens me. This is not representative of the sport I have loved and been involved in for over four decades. The only people who should ever be swinging fists are the two boxers inside those ropes. The whole concept of these large entourages of hangers-on needs to be changed. All a fighter needs onstage at a weigh-in are his coach and his manager.

The security also needs to be better. Knowing that these things can happen, promoters and venues should have security people in place to prevent serious injuries like this. Fighters should also be careful when selecting the people whom they surround themselves with. You’re judged by the company you keep. Hopefully this will be a lesson for boxers and their teams everywhere.

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