All Maureen Shea wants is a world title shot. 

Shea believes she is more than deserving of the opportunity. She fights in the meantime while that opportunity comes her way.

The 42-year-old Shea will face Grecia Novas Mateo in a stay-busy fight tonight at the Coco Locos Restaurant Sports Bar in Sosua in the Dominican Republic. The eight-round bout will precede the main event bout between junior lightweight Frency Fortunato of nearby Santo Domingo and Mexico’s Benito Sanchez Garcia.

In her last bout on May 7 of last year, Shea (30-2-1, 13 knockouts) defeated Colombia’s Calista Salgado by unanimous decision.

Shea, who is originally from The Bronx, New York and currently resides in Delray Beach, Florida, had not fought since stopping Martina Horgasz in January 2020. 

Back in April, Shea was rated No. 2 by the IBF at 122 pounds. Shea thought she was following through on a fight against then-No. 1 ranked contender Ellie Scotney earlier this year in an IBF interim world title fight, but was disappointed in the IBF mandating Cherneka Johnson to defend her title against Scotney.

Johnson would lose her belt to Scotney by unanimous decision on June 10. 

Shea is currently not ranked and hopes an impressive win over Novas will put her closer to a world title shot.

“I want to stay active,” Shea told BoxingScene Thursday afternoon. “I had this date planned for the last few weeks and just looking forward to showcasing a bit.”

Shea was the sparring partner for actress Hillary Swank in the movie “Million Dollar Baby.” She has given motivational speeches at high schools and junior high schools in Southern California, particularly in Oxnard. 

Novas (18-29-4, 9 KOs), who resides in nearby San Juan de la Maguana, stopped overmatched Maritza Alcantara in her last bout on May 7. In her previous fight on February 10, she was stopped by unbeaten Tiara Brown in the third round. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written BoxingScene.com since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing