Boxing: MVP & Jake Paul – who could Claressa Shields sign with as a promotional free agent?

From the outside looking in, Jake Paul’s MVP seems like the natural fit despite some public verbal sparring with Shields.

Shields took issue with MVP billing the winner of Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano 3 as the women’s pound-for-pound number one.

Undefeated in 17 fights, Shields lays a strong claim to that spot. MVP houses several of the best fighters in the world – including many of Shields’ natural rivals – with lightweight world champion Terri Harper the latest fighter to join.

Hartlepool’s Marshall and newly crowned unified super-middleweight champion Shadasia Green are also with MVP. Shields is a former champion at the weight and already has a win over Marshall. Marshall remains the last woman to beat Shields in the amateurs in 2012.

Shields says she is open to speaking to every promoter.

“If their vision doesn’t align with my vision, then I’ll walk away. I don’t got any smoke with any of these entities,” Shields said on Ariel x Ade: The Boxing Show., external

Despite being American, Shields’ promotional options in the United States are perhaps limited.

Top Rank has just two females on its roster. The long-time number one boxing promoter in the US, Top Rank has no current TV deal after ending its association with ESPN last Saturday.

Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) doesn’t have a single female fighter signed to it.

It is MVP who has provided the biggest platforms for female fighters in the US in recent years. They staged an all-female card on Netflix in July, with six million people tuning in to watch. Reports suggested Taylor and Serrano split £14m for that contest.

Shields herself says she believes she should earn a minimum of £4m per fight. That is a big number to start at and probably out of reach for most of the promoters in the world.

But Shields is entertaining inside and out the ring, surely she would appeal to MVP and its Netflix partners?