Claressa Shields, London Olympic boxing champion, and three-time World Championship victor is back to secure yet another gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
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Flint residents are celebrating local hero, boxer Claressa Shields, who won her second gold medal on the final day of the Rio Olympics. Shields, who is only 21, is the only US boxer to win two gold medals in a row; she earned her first at the age of 17 during the London 2012 Games, when she defeated Russia’s Nadezda Torlopova. With hands down as if to say, “you couldn’t hit me if you wanted to”, Shields invites her opponent to do her best.
“I don’t really let anything be pressure to me”, Shields said.
“Girl you made us proud and you showed us what Flint strong is all about”, Weaver said.
Rio has been a song for Shields, who takes on the Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn on Sunday for her second Olympic gold medal.
Shields paraded round the ring afterwards screaming with an American flag fluttering behind her.
Shields was fantastic in her repeat bid. In one exchange, Fontijn landed both a left jab and a solid right to Shields’ head.
The second round saw the boxers switch roles at times. The U.S.A.’s Claressa Shields is gunning for gold, but first, she needs to face off against Dariga Shakimova. “I have been through a lot in my life”, she said, “but I want to inspire people, and I want to give people just a little bit of hope”.
The crowd, loud and rowdy, enjoyed this bout, particularly when both boxers showed a willingness to stand almost toe-to-toe and trade punches. Can she do it again in Rio?
Earlier this month, Flint residents experienced T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold in the place where it all began, Flint, Michigan. And as her punches got heavier and her footwork quicker, it convinced her that she could go as far as hard work would take her.
“I actually could have stopped her, but I was having so much fun out there I was like, why do that?”
When the judges’ decision was announced and the American’s glove was raised after the match, Shields was ecstatic. She dropped down on one knee in thanks and turned a cartwheel in the ring.
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“She convinced herself from the moment she got here that she was going to win that second gold medal and had it (the 2012 one) in the pocket waiting”, USA coach Billy Walsh said. The win boosted the spirits of a country that has been dealing with a recession, political turmoil, health scares and rampant crime – not to mention the lingering effects of a 7-1 rout against Germany in the 2014 World Cup.
Shields has come a long way from her tough childhood in Flint, and boxing has been her salvation. I can’t hear that anymore. Whenever I saw my mom, I asked her if I could get a silky straight weave, instead of my normal braids.
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Crutchfield shared the same level of excitement as everyone else for her victory but still hopes she gets more national exposure for her historic performance. I have a nephew who I don’t want to grow up there because he may be shot or killed just because of the gang violence.
