The inspiring movie about Claressa Shields: ‘The Fire Inside’

‘The Fire Inside’, a movie about the inspiring true story of the current WBC heavyweight champion, Claressa Shields, will hit theaters on December 25, 2024.

Starring Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry, the film tells the story of one of the greatest female boxers of all time.

Claressa, a high school student from Flint, Michigan, with the help of her tough trainer, Jason Crutchfield, overcomes difficult obstacles to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. But even at the peak of success, Claressa has to face the fact that not all dreams are created equal and that the real fight has only just begun.

Claressa commented in an interview with boxingscene.com some aspects of ‘The Fire Inside’:

“I want people to understand when they see my movie that boxing is a passion for me. I’m not forced to box and I don’t have to box to heal. It’s helped me become the person I was supposed to be.

“A great job was done writing the story. Some of the things that were included were great… because a lot of times, my story has been misinterpreted. People have written things that aren’t true or they’ve exaggerated it. I had a very tough upbringing, but I also boxed and boxing saved my life.

“The previous story was that I was some kind of angry woman who was raped as a child and I hate all men, so I learned to box to fight men… that’s not my story, but that’s how it was portrayed for a long time.

So I wanted to make sure that we didn’t go down that road, that we really did it right and made it clear that I am passionate about boxing. I love boxing. It’s what I chose to do. God chose me to box. And I am the person that is supposed to change the whole sport.

“I’m not angry about boxing. It’s something that has given me the most joy in my life. I am passionate about boxing.”