Boxing

Claressa Shields Calls Out Haters And Threatens Legal Action After Failed Drug Test, PED Rumors

Pound-for-pound great Claressa Shields set the record straight about her recently failed drug test.

Grant Young

Claressa Shields speaks to media during the final press conference on May 31, 2023.
Claressa Shields speaks to media during the final press conference on May 31, 2023. / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The boxing world was thrown into disarray on February 13 when boxing reporter Rick Glaser made an X post that wrote, "Claressa Shields has reputedly failed a drug test for her most recent fight, rumored to be a PED test. #Boxing".

This post seemingly came out of nowhere and was a shock to the community considering how highly-regarded Claressa Shields is. She is the only fighter, man or woman, to be undisputed champion in three different divisions in the four-belt era, and is ranked as the world's best active female boxer by ESPN.

However, Glaser's (unsourced) report was refuted when Victor Conte made a February 13 X post that wrote, "IMORTANT NOTICE TO BOXING: @ClaressaShields did not test positive for a PED after her recent fight in Michigan. Claressa had not smoked marijuana, however, the commision did a mouth swab test after the fight. There seems to be a number of issues that exist with the Michigan testing procedure. Urine is the normal sample used to test for marijuana. Most credible anti-doping entities do not consider marijuana to be a PED.

"VADA found no PEDs in Claressa's blood and urine samples. The Nevada commision, the UFC and other commissions do not consider marijuana a PED. The amount found in her mouth swab was 3.4 ng/ml or parts per billion. This is an ultra-trace amount that likely would have come from second-hand smoke in the arena. There were also other irregularities that occured in the testing procedure. The world of boxing needs to clearly understand that Claressa is a clean boxer and always has been. More information about this rather unusual case will become available soon," the post continued.

In short, Shields did not test positive for PEDs but for marijuana, and it was in such a trace amount that it's likely to be due to second-hand smoke in the arena of her last night.

It didn't take Shields long to speak her mind about Glaser's PED allegatiation, as she posted on X, "NICE TRY HATERS 😂 DON’T Ever try and put no bullshit on me. CLEAN ATHLETES WIN’ 🏆".

Shields also replied with, "Yeah @RickGlaser you getting sued buddy."

While there's surely more to come from this story, it seems that the truth has now come to light.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Boxing, Women’s Basketball, and the New York Mets for On SI. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years, and he thinks it’s time that Canelo Álvarez fights David Benavidez.