U.S. boxer Claressa Shields makes history, wins second Olympic gold

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If Claressa Shields was anything coming into the 2016 Olympics, it was confident.

“I definitely feel like I’m the best fighter here, male or female,” the 21-year-old American boxer said midway through the Rio Games.

Shields delivered in the gold medal match Sunday, taking down middleweight Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands to repeat as Olympic champion. Once again, it was a completely dominant performance from the No. 1 overall seed – a third straight unanimous decision. She already had defeated Fontijn this year, in the world championship finals three months ago.

[Related: Inspired by Muhammad Ali, Claressa Shields chasing history at Olympics]

The Flint, Mich., native’s second gold makes her the first American boxer to have back-to-back Olympic gold medals, giving her the title of most successful U.S. Olympic boxer ever. She was just 17 years old four years ago in London – one of the youngest U.S. Olympians – when she won for the first time.

On Sunday, as she sang the national anthem atop the medal podium, she sported both her Rio gold and her London gold from four years ago.

Shields has gone undefeated over the past four years and ramped up her training to include matches against some of the U.S. men to prepare for Rio. It paid dividends over the course of the tournament, as her confidence and skill was on full display.