Cecilia Braekhus talks Claressa Shields and big fights to come in women’s boxing

Undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus has been a top name in women’s boxing for a long time, and she’s looking forward to her next run of fights, taking part in the growth on that side of the sport with some dangerous foes on the horizon.

First up will be a 145-pound catchweight bout against current WBC and WBA junior welterweight titleholder Jessica McCaskill, which everyone hopes will happen in late June or July.

Braekhus (36-0, 9 KO) is not looking past McCaskill, even though promoter Eddie Hearn has said a fight between the winner of that bout and the winner of the Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano bout is basically a done deal.

“We both fought [Erica] Farias, who is a brilliant fighter,” Braekhus noted. “I actually thought Farias was going to beat McCaskill. So McCaskill beating her, with her experience, that was a big deal, that was huge. Those who have followed women’s boxing, they know this is going to be a tough fight. McCaskill is definitely not someone you should overlook, and I’m not doing that, either.”

There has been some concern from Taylor in particular about the weight for a fight with Braekhus. Taylor is really a lightweight, and has said she really can’t go over 142 or so. Braekhus says that’s not going to be an issue.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” she said. “I’m a small welterweight. I walk around as a welterweight. That shouldn’t be a problem at all.”

And of course, there has also been chatter recently between Braekhus and three-division titleholder Claressa Shields. Shields has accused Braekhus of ducking her, while Braekhus has said there’s just not enough money in that fight to make her turn from her current path.

“I think she has a bit of a crush on me!” Braekhus joked, noting Shields’ relentless nature on social media.

“But I 100 percent agree that Claressa is good for boxing. She brings excitement and the fans in, and they get very caught up in the whole thing. She is a good thing for boxing. She’s still young and she’s still learning how things work. I’ve been doing this for a while now. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs.

“I think I pointed out to everyone why this isn’t happening right now. I’m in a foursome that is quite extraordinary. This mini tournament with me, McCaskill, Katie Taylor, and Amanda Serrano is excellent. It would take a lot to drag me away from this. It’s quite an astonishing situation in women’s boxing.”