Flint’s Claressa Shields made history this afternoon, becoming the first U.S. boxer to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals, defeating the Netherland’s Nouchka Fontijn in the women’s middleweight (75 kg).
And the Flint native did it with the same ferocious flair — winning a unanimous decision over the Netherlands Nouchka Fontijn in the women’s middleweight final at the Riocentro Pavillion — that has made her one of the most talked-about amateur fighters in the world.
This is gold medal story of survival, escaping from poverty and a difficult childhood, bouncing between 11 homes by the time she was 12, turning all of that pain into a champion boxer.
For the full article, see Golden again! Flint’s Claressa Shields defends Olympic boxing title“,
Flint’s Claressa Shields fighting for her future“,
Claressa Shields controls fight, wins 2nd Olympic gold“,
The Fight Game: Claressa Shields Interview : Correspondent Melissa Stark visits 2012 Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields for a revealing profile of the boxer and extends the conversation with Jim Lampley.
T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold : In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold, Claressa “T-Rex” Shields and her coach Jason Crutchfield reminisce about how she first began as a boxer. Crutchfield first saw Shields box when she was all of 11 years old. Despite his reservations about girls boxing, Crutchfield took Claressa under his wing when he saw how quickly she excelled in the sport.
American Knockout – Claressa Shields 2012 Gold Medalist : Gold medalist Claressa Shields talks about how she got into the sport of boxing and what it was like for her to win the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the women’s middleweight category.
Scott Atkinson, “The Greatest (Woman) of All Time“, Hour Detroit, April 2018. Flint boxer Claressa Shields may have Olympic gold medals under her belt, but she’s just getting started.