Boxing Champion Claressa Shields Says She Plans To Have Baby With Papoose In 2026

Boxing champion Claressa Shields is ready to take on a new title—mothe During a recent appearance on The Pivot podcast, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and undisputed middleweight world champion opened up about her personal plans to start a family. Shields, 30, revealed that she and her partner, rapper and entrepreneur Papoose, are preparing to welcome their first child together in 2026. “I’m gonna have a baby next year,” Shields shared confidently. “We already had it planned out. I’m gonna have baby next year.” The Flint, Michigan native—widely regarded as one of the greatest female boxers of all time—explained that motherhood is something she doesn’t want to postpone until the end of her boxing career. Instead, she’s creating a blueprint that allows her to balance both family and sport. “And then after I go through my stuff, then I’ll come back and fight and fight some more, and then probably have another one and then do the same thing again,” Shields said, outlining her vision for alternating between competing in the ring and raising a family. “Like, I don’t want to wait till I’m, you know, 40, 43, whatever, after my career, to have my kids,” she added. “I want to be able to run at the park with my kids and stuff like that. I don’t want to be too old.” Shields also cited her clean and healthy lifestyle as a major advantage going into this next chapter. “So I think that keeping my body in shape—I don’t drink, I don’t smoke—I think that’ll also help me too when I’m going through this whole body and life changing stuff or, you know, whatever, next year.

SOURCE