Claressa Shields: I'm the best fighter at the Olympics, male or female

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RIO DE JANEIRO — Thirty minutes after she opened her bid to repeat as Olympic gold medalist with a one-sided victory, American boxer Claressa Shields made it clear she’s not lacking for confidence.

She interrupted a reporter’s question to playfully chide him for using the phrase, “if you get the gold medal.”

“If?” Shields scoffed. “I’m sorry?”

Shields certainly looked unbeatable Wednesday when she advanced to the semifinals by dispatching Russian middleweight Iaroslava Iakushina via unanimous decision. The 21-year-old American clinched no worse than a bronze medal with the victory, not that she’d be satisfied with anything but gold.

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Even though Shields delivered most of the punishment and avoided nearly all of her opponent’s wild flailing swings, she rated it a “C-minus performance.” Rust from a six-month hiatus between fights caused Shields to mistime a few punches that typically would have connected. She also grew frustrated during the middle two rounds with Iakushina’s habit of clutching and holding.

“Today wasn’t her greatest performance I would say, but she was comfortable in there,” said U.S. coach Billy Walsh. “The girl couldn’t hit her. She just wanted to get some timing and by the end of the third round we started to get that timing. If there had been one more round, I think the fight would have been stopped.”

Shields’ dominance on a day when she was less than her best has to be intimidating for future opponents. She has earned the nickname T-Rex by amassing a 75-1 record and going undefeated over the past four years. She’s also taller, stronger and more savvy than she was four years ago when she dominated this division as a 17-year-old en route to the first women’s gold medal in USA Boxing history.

To prepare for the Olympics, Shields didn’t just spar with other female U.S. boxers. Seeking stronger competition to challenge herself against, Shields also stepped into the ring with some of the U.S. men.

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“It’s been kind of hard to persuade coach Billy to let me spar with the guys,” Shields said. “I have to beg him. When I get in there with the girls, I throw them all around. He’s like, ‘You have to take it easy.’ I’m like, ‘I told you to put me in the ring with the guys.'”

Up next for Shields in the semifinals is Kazakhstan’s Dariga Shakimova. Shields would become USA Boxing’s first ever two-time gold medalist if … or maybe when she wins her next two bouts.

“I definitely feel like I’m the best fighter here, male or female,” Shields said. “The only person who’s close to me here, as far as skillwise, is Shakur Stevenson, and that’s my little bro. We’re on the same team. We’re both going to walk out of here with a gold medal.”