Lauren Price explains why Claressa Shields fight talks broke down

Lauren Price has ruled out Claressa Shields as her planned early-2027 opponent after negotiations failed to produce a deal. Speaking to BBC Sport Wales, the unified welterweight champion said she had rejected the proposed terms, while leaving open the possibility of meeting the American at a later stage of her career.

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Price's objections centred on payment, the proposed locations and the absence of a rematch clause. In her account of the negotiations, the financial offer was insufficient and she wanted bouts in both the United States and Wales. She said Shields would not agree to fight in Wales. Those details were presented by Price as her explanation for why the discussions broke down.

The Welsh boxer said her position as an Olympic gold medallist and a unified professional champion meant she did not need to accept an agreement she considered unfavourable. She suggested the calculation might have been different late in her career or after defeats, but said other appealing opportunities remained available. Although she still expects to fight Shields eventually, no agreement was announced.

The pair had confronted each other after Price's victory over Stephanie Pineiro in April, a contest Shields attended. BBC Sport reported that Shields again challenged Price in August after reclaiming middleweight titles. A meeting at middleweight had been discussed, but Price's latest comments make clear that those talks have not delivered a bout and that Shields is not the opponent she has in mind for early next year.

Price's confirmed next assignment is a defence of her WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight titles against Michaela Kotaskova at Cardiff's Utilita Arena on 20 November. The contest will be shown live on the BBC and will be her first appearance since the Pineiro win. Price said she had wanted to return before the end of the year while discussions about larger fights continued.

She also told the BBC that she anticipated another fight early in 2027, but did not name an opponent. Price linked her ambitions to collecting all the championship belts and stressed that she first had to get through the November defence. Her comments therefore leave a clear distinction between the scheduled Kotaskova contest and a subsequent fight whose participants and terms have not been disclosed.