Claressa Shields: 'Fire Inside' puts more pressure on upcoming fight

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Boxer-turned-MMA champion Claressa Shields said the new movie about her life, The Fire Inside, in theaters Wednesday, puts more pressure on her to win her February bout.

The film stars Ryan Destiny as Shields, who became the first American female Olympic gold medalist in boxing in 2012. Shields transitioned into MMA in 2020, but will box against Danielle Perkins on Feb. 2.

On the line in this homecoming bout will be Shields' WBC heavyweight title and WBO heavyweight title, and she'll also compete for the vacant WBA title. She has a 15-0 professional boxing record, including three knockouts.

"Who wants to have a biopic about their great life and their great story come out and then lose a fight with all these new fans?" Shields, 29, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

"To have a biopic come out about your life while you're the No. 1 woman fighter in the world, it adds a little pressure to your plate," she said

The film begins in 2006, when an 11-year-old Claressa (Jazmin Headley, with Kylee D. Allen for running scenes) walks into a Flint, Mich., gym. Coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) agrees to train her.

By 2011, 16-year-old Claressa (Ryan Destiny) is a contender for USA Boxing's female Olympic team. Shields confirmed the film's training montages reflected her real preparations.

"In the ring, running, push-ups, the crunches, punching the bag, hitting the pads, it was a great training montage," Shields said. "She did very well."

Destiny sought Shields' advice over Zoom, particularly in how to cope with soreness after exhausting training and boxing scenes. Shields told her to rest.

"Go and get a massage, ice bath, hot bath, rest, drink some water," Shields said. "It's OK to recover. I think a lot of athletes should do more recovery."

After winning the gold medal in 2012, Shields still struggled financially. She was not winning endorsement deals like male athletes, and USA Boxing paid female fighters less than their male counterparts.

Shields has been an advocate for pay equality in sports, specifically boxing, bringing it up whenever she can in interviews. She said she's pleased the pay gap is closing, but feels there is more work to do.

"I try to let other girls know what I've learned and give them the blueprint to where they can make millions of dollars being professional women fighters," she said.

The film did take some artistic license with Shields' post-Olympic struggles. A scene in which she tries to pawn her gold medal never happened, but Shields said it reflected her frustration that winning the gold did not alleviate her financial struggles.

"I locked it in a drawer for a long time," Shields said. "I considered throwing it in the Flint River because Muhammed Ali threw his gold medal in the Ohio River."

Shields said watching The Fire Inside made her emotional and brought back memories of struggles that were not included in the film. The film does touch on Shields' volatile relationship with her mother (Olunike Adeliyi), going hungry as a child, coping with a loss in the ring and more.

"Seeing how hungry we were when I was a kid, it showed it only two times in the scenes, but it was all the time," Shields said. "I remember everything else that was going on in my life at that time and it makes me very emotional."

The film ends in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics. Even in 2024, Shields said she feels like she still has more work to do, like defend her belts in February and win more.

She said her transition to MMA made her feel complete, as well as humbled being thrown to the ground. Shields also learned how to get back up and resist arm bars and other MMA moves.

"I am a complete fighter now," Shields said. "I was already the best woman fighter in the world in boxing, but now I feel like I can go to the other side and do some damage, too."

There will be no holiday break for Shields when The Fire Inside opens. She will train for the Perkins fight, and didn't even let interviews interrupt her regimen.

"I just trained this morning," Shields said. "I have to. I am eight weeks out from the fight and I have to perform."