Recently, Claressa Shields was a guest on the sports podcast Nightcap with hosts Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. Shields was having an intense conversation with Sharpe about a current hot-button topic.
Shields was speaking about her belief that she could beat WBA welterweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero. Sharpe vehemently disagreed, pointing out that Romero is a male and a hard-hitting, skilled professional boxer.
Shields responded by stating that when she trains, she always spars against men. She then revisited the infamous sparring session in which she claims foul play took place.
“That guy is a cheat. He didn’t have no padding in his gloves,” Shields said. “And if it’s not true, why haven’t him and his coach sued me yet? That dude, I had whooped him the week before and he was mad and he didn’t like it.”
Shields went on to say, “His coach gave him some worn gloves he said he got from Roberto Duran as a gift. This is what the man said, Derik Santos, the coach. The gloves had zero padding in them and he caught me with that hook.”
Back in 2023, when the allegations were initially brought to the forefront, the coach Derik Santos spoke about the incident when he appeared as a guest on ProBox TV. Santos said he never met Roberto Duran and that the gloves were regular 16-ounce gloves.
Recently, Claressa Shields’ former sparring partner Arturs “Triple A” Ahmetovs (6-1, 2 KOs) spoke to Vince DWriter regarding the 2018 knockdown.
“I didn’t want to go that hard, but the combinations I’ve trained for kicked in on reflex. She came out aggressive, and it came out a bit harsher than I intended,” Ahmetovs stated.
Arturs Ahmetovs denies the accusations of using tampered gloves. He defended himself by stating, “On the video you can see they were normal gloves.”
Ahmetovs said he and Claressa Shields sparred twice. The first time was a light spar, and the second time Shields got aggressive and was caught by a precise shot.
The following year after the infamous sparring session, Arturs Ahmetovs made his professional boxing debut in March 2019 when he stopped Demetrius Wilson in the second round. Ahmetovs would go on to win his next four bouts.
Ironically, in his sixth professional bout, Ahmetovs was stopped in the second round by Rolly Romero. Ahmetovs later bounced back and scored a unanimous decision victory over Vladyslav Baranov.
The Riga, Latvia native saw his professional career derailed when his visa expired. Ahmetovs attempted to make a comeback three years ago, but each time a fight was scheduled it ended up being canceled.
Currently, Arturs Ahmetovs is not active, as his personal schedule consists of training and coaching. Ahmetovs admits he would consider making a comeback if he could find a good team with solid financing and a strong technical base.
Regarding the controversial sparring incident, Arturs Ahmetovs is adamant that Claressa Shields was dropped because he landed a sharp shot. Tampered gloves, he insists, had nothing to do with Shields going down to the canvas.
Arturs Ahmetovs said on the day he dropped Claressa Shields he was wearing standard 16-ounce gloves. When asked why he never sued Shields, Ahmetovs responded by saying, “In my country it’s not common to sue somebody for talking.”
Photo Credit: Arturs Ahmetovs Instagram
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