Claressa Shields has narrowed her walkout music for her MMA debut down to three songs. She needs a tune she can dance to on the way to the cage, though the gold gladiator costume and her customary entrance theatrics will be left behind with her boxing gloves.
“I actually need to make more TikTok videos,” she said, laughing. “I dance all the time. At the gym. In between rounds of sparring. I’m always doing some kind of dancing. When I walk out and I’m dancing and singing, that’s how I feel calm. I can’t walk out all serious.”
Her mood switched inside the boxing ring. Shields was fierce, focused, and carried that Flint, Michigan chip with her all the way to two Olympic gold medals and championships in three professional weight classes.
