Price set for two-fight deal with Shields

Claressa Shields (left) and Lauren Price (right) are both Olympic gold medallists Lauren Price is expected to return to action this summer before signing a two-fight deal to face fellow Olympic champion Claressa Shields, according to promoter Ben Shalom. Price, 31, maintained her unbeaten professional record with a unanimous points victory over Stephanie Pineiro in Cardiff on Saturday night. She is next set to face an as yet unnamed opponent in August, potentially in the Welsh capital, before a blockbuster double-header with Shields - who was ringside for Price's bout with Pineiro at Utilita Arena.

Asked when the duo could face off, Shalom told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast: "Once in the US, and then hopefully once where we can come to either Cardiff City Stadium or (Cardiff) castle and do that in June next year. "She's selling out that (Utilita) arena too fast. She needs somewhere bigger.

" Multi-weight undisputed champion Shields is the current undisputed heavyweight champion. But Shalom confirmed the bouts between the American and Price would likely be at middleweight. "I would say Lauren's most natural weight, her best weight, is the middleweight division," he explained.

"Claressa will have to come down to the middleweight division, but that's a weight she's done her best work at. "So, in fact, it's a perfect match for both of them. " Shalom first visited Cardiff when Chris Eubank Jr secured a convincing points win over Welshman Liam Williams in February 2022.