There weren’t any meaningful fights left for her at 175 pounds, the heavyweight limit for women boxers. And a rematch with former IBF super middleweight champ Savannah Marshall, the only opponent to truly push Shields in any of her 18 professional fights, became less appealing when Shadasia Green upset Marshall by split decision 13 months ago.

Green was subsequently upset by Lani Daniels, an opponent Shields dominated, which eliminated another option for her in the 168-pound division.

Shields seeks legitimate challenges while she remains in her physical prime, so she targeted middleweight matches against 154-pound champ Mikaela Mayer and Ring, IBF, WBA and WBC 147-pound champ Lauren Price. At 31, Shields determined the middleweight limit of 160 is as low as she can go at this point in her career without compromising her ability to perform at an elite level.

The undefeated five-division champion nonetheless has found it “extremely difficult” to get down to 160 pounds for the first time in three years. That’s the contracted weight limit for Shields’ 10-round fight against WBA/WBC middleweight champ Kaye Scott on Saturday night at State Farm Arena in Atlanta (DAZN; 8:30 p.m. ET).

If Shields regains two of her middleweight crowns from Scott, she is expected to square off with Wales’ Price (10-0, 2 KOs), who would move up two weight classes to face Shields sometime early in 2027.

“I’m very focused, but it’s not easy,” Shields told The Ring regarding her weight cut. “It’s not easy, and that’s why I went to 175. I didn’t go to 175 because I couldn’t hold 160. One, I just couldn’t get the fights I wanted when I was at 160. But it was also a [tough] weight for me to hold anyway. So, the fact that I had to keep being put on the bench for six, seven, eight, 10 months to get these girls to agree to fights, and then you go to 175 and you have four or five girls lined up who are like, ‘Yeah, I’ll fight you,’ it was a no-brainer.”

The two-time Olympic gold medalist from Flint, Michigan, went 4-0 in heavyweight bouts and became undisputed champ in a third division. She most recently shut out Franchon Crews Dezurn on all three scorecards in their 10-round rematch February 22 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Shields (18-0, 3 KOs), ranked No. 2 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, grew completely comfortable competing at 175 pounds. She is a 20-1 favorite to beat the 42-year-old Scott (5-1-1), who will defend her WBA and WBC belts for the first time, yet Shields won’t know for sure how she’ll feel fighting at middleweight again until Saturday night.

“I had some of my toughest fights at 175,” Shields said. “But going to 175, I gained so much muscle and strength, and my body is just accustomed to being at 175 pounds. So now, having to go down to 160, it has been difficult. I’ve just been making sure I do everything right, making sure I do my cardio, making sure I spar, making sure I do my strength and conditioning, making sure I drink my water, take my supplements.

“I’ve been on it very, very extra for this fight because I think anybody can lose weight. But there’s a difference between losing weight and then how do you feel once the weight is made. I still have to fight. Like, somebody can fast for 10 days and they’ll lose 16 pounds. They don’t have to fight after that. I have to make sure that while I’m losing weight I keep my strength, keep my speed, keep my stamina and my endurance, and don’t hurt myself. So, it’s been a journey for sure.”