Shields would fight Rousey -- in a boxing match

Olympic boxing champion Claressa Shields of Flint would agree to a fight with UFC champion Ronda Rousey -- as long as it's in a ring, not a cage.

"I'm not ever doing mixed martial arts," Shields told Jim Caple of ESPN at the Pan Am Games, where Shields is competing. "I don't understand the sports. Ronda is great at what she does, but ... I'm a straight boxer. I know the sweet science.

"But in the middle of my professional career, if Ronda wants to transfer over to boxing, I'll box her and we can make a deal. First, she boxes me, then I go into the MMA ring. ... I know for a fact I would beat her in boxing. That's simple. But MMA? Uh, no. I'd give (the win) to her."

Shields, 20, became the first and only American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing at the 2012 London Games. She is training to go for another at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.