“The Fire Inside” was released in US cinemas on December 25. The moving biopic tells the story of Claressa Shields’ rocky road to the boxing Olympics. BOXSPORT shows you the official trailer!
Claressa Shields saw “The Fire Inside” for the first time in early January 2024. A film that describes the impressive journey of the exceptional boxer – from growing up in the small town of Flint (Michigan, USA) to her major triumphs at the Olympic Games.
First things first: the film, which opened in US cinemas last Christmas Day, is “very accurate” according to Shields. The multiple professional world champion, who grew up in poverty and in broken family circumstances, had no role to play in it, but approved the script. “I want viewers to see that it wasn’t all easy,” Shields tells ESPN. Her journey had been tough mentally, physically and emotionally and it had taken a lot to overcome those things. “But I wanted them to be in there because I’m not ashamed of it. And I think it will help others.”
Shields makes history at the Olympics
She won Olympic gold in 2012 and 2016 – making her the first US boxer to stand at the top of the podium at the Games twice in a row. “The Fire Inside” by director Rachel Morrison primarily outlines Shields’ journey to London and ends when she begins training for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
As the 29-year-old watches the biopic, she cries, laughs and clenches her fist, because the fire is still burning inside her. Shields is played in the movie by Ryan Destiny. The boxer is thrilled with how the US actress has mastered this difficult task. “I prayed for her. I said: ‘Oh, Lord, please give her the strength, because I know it’s going to be hard,'” Shields reveals.
Filming on The Fire Inside began in 2020, but then had to be interrupted until 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The exterior shots of the feature film were shot in Claressa’s hometown of Flint, while most of the interior shots were shot in Toronto. “It was so different for me, very shocking for my body and just so new,” describes Ryan Destiny, who had to train and live like an athlete for the first time in her life for this role. Dieting, losing weight and building muscle – it wasn’t exactly fun for the actress from Detroit. She worked with Robert Sale, who has already acted as a technical consultant for boxing films such as “Creed” and “Creed III”.
“Proud of our boxing scenes”
No stunt people were used for the fight scenes in The Fire Inside. Destiny shot her scenes herself and all the fighters involved were real boxers. During training, she learned the basics and how to actually box. Claressa Shields even calls Destiny’s way of boxing “beautiful”.
“I’m really proud of our boxing scenes because I think the choreography is pretty dynamic,” explains director Rachel Morrison, who learned the “sweet science” herself a few years ago. “And it puts the viewer in the ring in a way that even a lot of the boxing movies out there haven’t always done.”
Above all, the film shows the emotional aspects of Shields’ impressive journey. She does not receive the fame or the money she had hoped for after winning the gold medal. Frustration even drives the young boxer to pawn her medal in a pawnshop, whereupon the owner informs Claressa’s mother.
Emotional movie moments
Her father Bo, a former boxer, was serving a long prison sentence. When he is released from prison, Claressa is nine years old. Bo tells her about the famous boxer Laila Ali and arouses his daughter’s interest in the sport. However, her father believes that boxing is a man’s sport and does not allow Claressa to continue until she is eleven years old. At this time, the young fighter starts boxing at Berston Field House in Flint, where she also meets her trainer Jason Crutchfield.
One of the most emotional moments in the movie is when Shields travels to China for the 2012 Olympics. However, her coach Jason Crutchfield, played by Brian Tyree Henry, is unable to accompany her there. Claressa feels lost when she suffers her first defeat there against Savannah Marshall and tries to understand the instructions of a coach she doesn’t normally work with.
More than a decade later, these experiences still affect the boxing queen. “I felt like I let my family down,” Shields tells ESPN in retrospect. “I let Jason and everyone down when I lost. When I see that in the movie, it still makes me cry.”
“I want five-year-olds to see it”
Before The Fire Inside was filmed, Ryan Destiny knew nothing of the moving story of the “GWOAT” (Greatest Woman Of All Time). But the leading actress is, or was, not alone in this. Her story is now “finally being told properly”, says Shields, who turned professional in 2016, has been undefeated since then and has already become world champion in four weight classes. The boxer now hopes that the film will inspire and encourage people.
“I want five-year-olds to see this movie,” smiles Shields, who will be back in the ring for a world championship fight on February 2 in her hometown of Flint. “And then when they’re twenty and people ask them who their inspiration is, they say, ‘You know what? I saw the movie The Fire Inside with Claressa Shields. It helped me get to where I am now.”
Text: Frank Schwantes
It is not yet known when the biopic “The Fire Inside” about Claressa Shields will be released in German cinemas or on a streaming service. BOXSPORT will keep you up to date! You can watch the official trailer here:
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