So after pounding her way to a one-sided victory over the Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn in the women’s middleweight boxing final, mounting the medal podium and having the gold hung around her neck for the second time in four years, Shields unzipped the left pocket of her warmup jacket, pulled out the medal she won four years ago in London and draped that across her chest as well.
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The last American boxer to win two golds was Oliver Kirk, who won both the bantamweight and featherweight titles at the same 1904 St. Louis Olympics, where only US boxers took part.
Shields, the world champion who has rarely looked in trouble at any point in Brazil, stalked her unfancied opponent in the first round, swinging wildly but missing on a couple of occasions until she made contact with a heavy right near the end of the round. “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know”, Shields, still wrapped in her American flag, said when asked about what she would do next.
Their two golds on the final day from Shakhobidin Zoirov in the men’s flyweight and Fazliddin Gaibnazarov in the men’s light-welterweight put them deservedly at the top of the medal table. “Me and Shakur. Building gold medals in the sky, just the two of us”.
The crowd, loud and rowdy, enjoyed this bout, particularly when both boxers showed a willingness to stand almost toe-to-toe and trade punches. Prior to the Olympics, Shields discussed the idea of moving everyone with her to Florida and Dusable is open to the switch. Some of those landed – and Shields followed them with a flurry of other hits. As she jabs her way in, Shields double jab neutralizes her attempt to get off any power shots as Shields lands several devastating overhands.
When the judges’ decision was announced and the American’s glove was raised after the match, Shields was ecstatic. Mossely took off and made a golden leap into Yoka’s massive arms, just as she did after her victory.
With the win, Shields will become one of the biggest names in boxing.
She returns to the Olympics now as the favorite, and her placement in the middleweight final has met many predictions.
While French fiancées Tony Yoka and Estelle Mossely both won gold, and Uzbekistan and Cuba won three each, the USA tally of a gold, silver and bronze represented an improvement on 2012 for the former powerhouse. But as The Torch has reported, Shields hasn’t been able to convert her fame into the slew of endorsement deals one might expect. She won by unanimous decision. The legacy is important, she said. With her confidence fairly bursting, Shields doesn’t appear to require much help to dominate.
That unshakable belief is at the core of who Shields is, and it came from her struggles in Flint.
“None of these guys understood what I was trying to build with Team USA when I got here”, Walsh said. “It wasn’t that I was underweight, I just can’t stand the food in the cafe anymore at the Olympic Village”. He would see me on Twitter at 1 o’clock in the morning and he’d be like, what are you doing? I went out there and showed my class.
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“That’s what I want to do for those kids who grew up in my home city of Flint or grew up in towns anything like it – Chicago, Memphis – anywhere they come up somewhere rough or they have bad parents”.
