Can latest Claressa Shields fight grow women's boxing in popularity?

Brandon Folsom
Special to Detroit Free Press
Claressa Shields speaks with students after practice on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at the Downtown Boxing Gym in Detroit.

Bryan Vasquez is tired of being punched in the face. 

The Costa Rican super featherweight found a quiet spot to sit Tuesday afternoon at Downtown Boxing Gym on Detroit's east side. While his wife, world champion fighter Hanna Gabriels, entertained a scrum of reporters, he wiped away his sweat from under the brim of his snapback. 

Vasquez wears many hats. Earlier this year, he beat Miguel Angel Gonzalez by technical knockout to claim a world title. This week he's Gabriels' trainer, sweating with his wife in the practice ring. He'll be in her corner when she fights Flint's Claressa Shields in a main-event middleweight championship match Friday downtown at the Masonic Temple (10 p.m., Showtime). 

After the weekend, he'll return home and begin preparation to defend his 130-pound World Boxing Association Fedelatin title later this year. The 30-year-old, who signed a deal with Top Rank Promotions earlier this week, is 36-3 with 20 KOs and is ranked No. 8 in the world. But all he wants to be is a full-time dad for his daughter, Mia, and Gabriels' biggest cheerleader.

More:Flint's Claressa Shields makes changes ahead of June 22 Detroit fight

But Vasquez can't retire. It takes all the income he generates from sponsorships and winning purses to support both his family and Gabriels' career. While Gabriels is at the top of her profession, she still doesn't make enough to afford year-round training. 

Friday's card features four of the highest-ranked women's boxers — Christina Hammer and Tori Nelson are also fighting — yet the nationally-televised fights have sparked little interest in the industry. 

Vasquez hopes Friday's show helps women's boxing gain more popularity so that the sport can one day rival its male counterpart, or even the success that female UFC and MMA fighters such as Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm and Cris "Cyborg" Justino have enjoyed the past half-decade. 

"I'm praying to God that we get to see that — so I don't have to fight anymore and so she can support me," Vasquez said through a translator. "I have to fight to afford her training, and we have a daughter. 

"Because of the society we live in today, it's going to take more than 20 years to get equality in this sport. I hope that it happens now, but it's going to take more than 20 years because we live in an alpha-male society." 

So what's wrong with women's boxing? Why isn't it as popular as, say, women's soccer, tennis or golf in the United States? 

The go-to answer promoters use is the lack of depth in the sport. The talent just isn't there, and there aren't enough competitive fighters in each weight class to keep matches interesting for fans.

Shields has had only five professional fights, yet she is already a world champion. That speaks to the lack of challengers in her division. In men's boxing, for example, it can take up to 20 or more fights before a title shot is made available to a fighter.

More:Claressa Shields: Path to G.O.A.T. status will include men's ranking

Promoters have had to get creative when booking shows, even moving fighters into different divisions to ensure the best women face each other. Shields, for example, is the 168-pound world champion, while Gabriels is the best at 154 pounds. They're meeting at 160 pounds Friday, which will be a challenge for both fighters. But it's a match that ensures two of the best pound-for-pound fighters meet in the ring. 

The disparity in purses has also plagued women's boxing. Shields made $50,000 in her debut professional fight in 2016. That pales in comparison to some of the purses for some boxers — Grand Rapids native Floyd Mayweather shared a $300 million purse with Manny Pacquiao when the two fought in 2015, for example. 

Shields has supplemented her income with sponsorships from big businesses such as Walmart, but it's not easy for all women's boxers to secure sponsors. Shields is marketable because she's the only boxer, male or female, from the United States to become a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Successful Olympians have a proven track record of making money for their sponsors in the U.S. But that's not always the case in other countries.

Gabriels, for instance, is from Costa Rica, and with the World Cup being played in Russia right now, it's hard for her to secure any kind of support from businesses back home. Those businesses are supporting the country's soccer team instead. 

"My country is a soccer country, so the World Cup is most important," the 35-year-old said. "It doesn't give me a chance (to make money) when sponsors don't want to invest in you. It's really, really tough." 

Claressa Shields celebrates after defeating Nikki Adler at the WBC and IBF super middleweight title fight at MGM Grand Detroit, Friday, August 4, 2017.

Knowing women's boxing needed better fights, Showtime Boxing pledged to give its viewers exactly that. Two years ago, the channel decided to give more exposure to the sport by arranging the best fights it can. Tonight's show will be the eighth card featuring women it has put together since Shields turned pro.

"It's something that was on our to-do list for quite awhile," president of Showtime Sports Stephen Espinoza said in a phone interview Wednesday. "We wanted it to happen sooner than it did, but for a variety of reasons, we didn't get to it."

Showtime has treated matchmaking for women's boxing no different than it has for the men. It wants to showcase the best fighting the best. 

"But the talent pool has always been an issue," Espinoza continued. "(And that's because), historically, there hasn't been a big incentive for women to turn pro, and that's why you had Claressa going to two Olympics. Usually, for a U.S. boxer, it's to attend one Olympics and then turn pro. 

"For Claressa, at a time when women weren't getting on TV, it didn't make any sense for her to turn pro. It's like taking an exit down a dead-end street. She went back and got a second gold medal and came out at a time when the market, in terms of Showtime, was more receptive to giving women an opportunity on TV."

Espinoza calls it the "chicken or egg" issue. Great fights can't happen unless there are great fighters, yet great fighters can't be bred until there's a tangible reason for women to box professionally, he said.

Showtime believes it's giving women an incentive to leave the amateur ranks. Over time, more TV exposure should lead to bigger paydays and more sponsorships for women's boxers — and even more fan excitement. 

"You'll see more women turning pro because there's real money in it now that there are TV networks in it," Espinoza said. "Hopefully, there is a new generation of girls who see Claressa and (want to be like her), and then we'll see a wave down the line of girls just like her." 

Claressa Shields ties her shoes before practice on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at the Downtown Boxing Gym in Detroit.

Vasquez doesn't expect much to change while Gabriels is still in her prime. But he hopes when Mia is old enough to turn pro, she can enjoy more success thanks to boxers such as her mother and Shields — even if that means he still has to fight to support his family. 

"You don't become a fighter because you like to get punched in the head," he said. "You become a fighter because you're fighting for your dreams. So she's (Gabriels) fighting for her dreams, and I'm fighting for my dreams. 

"At the end of the day, we have the same dream. So this is a team, and we're working together for one united dream." 

One punch in the face at a time.