Such a matchup would pit the top two women’s boxers pound-for-pound against each other. Shields is No. 1 in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings, while Cameron is No. 2.

The negotiations, which have spilled out into the public eye, have poured cold water over the possibility of Shields facing Cameron in 2027. Nakisa Bidarian, the co-founder and CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, who promotes Cameron, and Dmitry Salita, the founder of Salita Promotions and Shields’ promoter, exchanged words on X over their fractured talks.

Bidarian further elaborated on the back-and-forth after Alycia Baumgardner’s unanimous decision victory over Elif Nur Turhan to become the IBF lightweight champion in the main event of MVPW07 on ESPN at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday.

“That is the most important event for Claressa Shields' career,” Bidarian said. “It would propel her to new heights to fight the true No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, who beat Katie Taylor in Ireland. They just don't understand the bigger picture. They should be doing anything they can to get Chantelle to accept the fight.”

The exchanges on social media began on Friday when Shields (19-0, 4 KOs), the unified middleweight champion and undisputed heavyweight titleholder, posted on X that her team had made a “huge offer” to Cameron. The five-division champion and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist added that Cameron, a unified titleholder at 154 pounds, had accepted the fight for the first quarter of 2027, but asked what the holdup was.

Shields, a 31-year-old from Flint, Michigan, added the WBA and WBC middleweight titles to her collection of belts when she stopped Kaye Scott in the sixth round on August 15 in Atlanta.

Cameron (23-1, 8 KOs) was quick to respond, saying she was more than willing to face Shields next. The 35-year-old from Northampton, England, is coming off a unanimous decision over Mikaela Mayer to become The Ring, WBA, WBC and WBO 154-pound champion on August 29 in Birmingham, England. Cameron also handed Katie Taylor the lone defeat of her illustrious career when she beat her by majority decision in May 2023.

Bidarian later responded to Shields’ post, stating that MVP has worked with anyone in order to make the biggest fights happen. He added that they had even agreed to a deal for Shields vs. Cameron to take place without MVP’s involvement.

He later said that MVP isn’t dealing with “professional people” and that the offer they had accepted was later reduced by nearly 30 percent. Bidarian also stated that the purse offered was in line with what Cameron had made in previous fights, rather than earning a career-high purse.

“We gave them one last opportunity to go back to their original offer five days ago,” Bidarian wrote on X on Friday. “They passed. We have moved on. Next time, do not put an offer on the table and then change your mind.”

Cameron echoed Bidarian’s sentiment, saying the changes to the original offer have halted the fight for the time being.

Salita said Cameron was offered north of $1 million, plus a percentage of revenue generated from ticket sales, and assured there would be neutral judges. He said that negotiations have been going on for a while and are “coming down to the wire.” Salita added that Shields-Cameron is the fight he and everyone on his team want next and that he’d be willing to have them come together to get a deal across the finish line.

Salita also took aim at Bidarian going to X and revealing details from their negotiations. He added that MVP wanted a $25,000 liquidated-damages payment for any negative comments Shields made toward MVP and Bidarian’s fellow co-founder Jake Paul. Salita believes Bidarian used that tactic to keep the fight from happening next.

“We are fighter-first and fan-first,” Salita wrote. “We have a responsibility to the fighters, whose careers are finite, and to the fans to make the biggest fights possible. We have always wanted Claressa vs. Chantelle, and we remain ready to work with MVP to make it happen. Taking negotiations public does not move us closer to the ring. We’re ready to return to the table and get this fight done.”