Boxing star Claressa Shields still faces possible enforcement action for testing positive for marijuana last month in Michigan even though her suspension was ‘dissolved’ Friday, according to an order issued by the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission (MUCC), which regulates boxing in the state.
Shields, 29, announced the news on her social media account.
‘Officially unsuspended!’’ Shields wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “But y’all a little quiet! Y’all was real loud about me ‘supposedly’ smoking marijuana and being suspended! No worries! And still an Undisputed heavyweight champ! I have the Order to prove it!!!’
However, the last line of the Order issued by the MUCC reads, ‘The Order does not resolve the Formal Complaint … and does not close the enforcement action.’
Anne Morrell, newly elected chair of the MUCC, told USA TODAY Sports she could not comment on the matter.
Shields faces a fine and the possibility of having the victory from her last fight overturned. That bout took place Feb. 2, when she became the undisputed heavyweight champion after beating Danielle Perkins by unanimous decision in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.
But after the fight, Shields has said, she tested positive for ‘trace” levels of marijuana.
Shields was one of eight boxers on the card that night randomly drug tested, in adherence with MUCC rules. Marijuana is legal in Michigan but banned at Dort Financial Center, where the Feb. 2 fight was held.
Shields attorney, David Slutsker, said he and Shields were ‘happy and relieved that the suspension issue has been resolved in her favor.” But Slutsker also said he is ‘astounded’ the Formal Complaint – that Shields violated MUCC rules by testing positive for marijuana – is not resolved.
The Complaint led to an order of suspension, which was issued Feb. 12 stated the MUCC ‘investigated and determined that sufficient and good cause exists to find that the conduct of Respondent Claressa M. Shields, a licensed professional boxer, constitutes an imminent threat to the integrity of the sport of professional boxing, the public interest, and the welfare and safety of a professional requiring emergency action.’
Slutsker represented Shields at a compliance meeting March 6 with Michigan officials and told USA TODAY Sports, ‘the Complaint was most definitely part of our defense presentation. It was in the evidence booklet we presented.’ He also sought to have the suspension dissolved, and succeeded.
The order issued by the MUCC Friday stated, ‘Based on the information the Respondent provided at the compliance conference, the Department (of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs), on behalf of the MUCC, finds there is no longer immiment threat to the integrity of the sport, the public interest, or the welfare and safety of a contest that requires emergency action. … The Department will remove Respondent’s name from the suspension list of the sanctioned record-keeping organization (Friday).”
Mark Taffet, Shields’ manager, expressed gratitude for the suspension being dissolved.
‘We appreciate the Michigan Commission’s swift elimination of the suspension, and look forward to Claressa getting right back to business as boxing’s GWOAT.”
Slutsker, however, said he is unsure what will be required to resolve the Formal Complaint and avoid enforcement action.
Shields’ victory over Perkins by unanimous decision improved her record to 16-0 and elevated her to the undisputed women’s heavyweight champion. But things subsequently unraveled for Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose rise to fame from poverty and abuse was chronicled in ‘The Fire Inside,’ a feature-length film released Christmas Day.
Her story took on a new chapter of adversity.
Shields was one of eight boxers drug tested after the event Feb. 2, according to her attorney and Dmitriy Salita, the event promoter. Boxers are chosen for drug testing by random, according to MUCC rules.
Shields has said a saliva test after her fight against Perkins showed trace levels of marijuana in her system, but her drug results were not publicly released.
She denied ever using the drug.
Informed about the failed drug test Feb. 7, Shields fought back against critics who attacked her integrity on social media.
One theory about the failed test is it could have been triggered by secondhand smoke.
Three boxers on the Feb. 2 card at the Dort Financial Center in Flint tested positive for marijuana. Joe Hicks, one of those boxers, said he tested positive for trace levels of marijuana and that the smell of the drug permeated areas of the facility. Mark Taffet, Shields’ promoter, and Salita also said marijuana could be smelled at the event.
Shields also was expected to argue that protocol was not followed when the saliva test was administered, according to Victor Conte, who describes himself as a ‘dietary supplement and training adviser” for Shields. She is sponsored by Conte’s supplement company, SNAC.