The life and legacy of professional boxer and mixed martial artist Claressa Shields is the driving force behind ‘The Fire Inside,’ a new feature from director Rachel Morrison.
Starring Ryan Destiny as Claressa and Brian Tyree Henry as her coach, the film follows Shields from Flint, Michigan through her training to become the first woman in this country’s history to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.
“Somebody reached out to me two months before the second Olympics,” Shields explains at a global press conference for the film. The boxer had some questions about the plot, and more specifically, what the story was going to cover. “I was just asking them, so where are you guys gonna start in my life? Where are you guys going to finish in the movie about my life? Because I had [a] documentary.”
Shield’s documentary ‘T-Rex’ followed the Michigan native for about four years, from the ages of 16 to 20. The hour-and-a-half look into her life showed her path to the Olympics, but she wanted a fuller picture for the feature.
“People left the documentary ‘T-Rex’ thinking that I won a gold medal and that was it…[I had] no endorsements, no sponsorships, living in poverty. And I just was like, well, now with the movie that’s gonna be worldwide, I need it to where people understand. Don’t leave out any of the bad stuff. Put it all in there,” Shields continues.
“But just know, this isn’t a sad story. This is a very resilient story. I feel like this is a very fateful and a hopeful story. I don’t want nobody feeling sorry for me because I don’t feel sorry for myself. But I want them to know, I went through this, I went through that. Almost quit here. Almost gave up there. But look at where I am now. And being 29 years old.”
Rachel Morrison signed on to direct ‘The Fire Inside’ once she found out about Shields—and she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t heard it before.
“Claressa is such a badass force and an incredible athlete. And I follow sports, so for me to not know it, it felt like there was something wrong in the universe,” Morrison explains.
“I’d been reading for a long time and looking for something that felt, you know, meaningful and additive in the universe and that I could be additive to. There were things that I saw from my experiences being a female DP that I could put into it as well. But really it’s just Claressa’s story deserved to be out there.”
Along with Shields’ story, actor Bryan Tyree Henry is tackling another figure from the boxing world—Coach Jason Crutchfield.
“I think every actor with their weight in salt looks for that moment where we get to actually play somebody that’s real, that’s actually living and breathing. But so rarely do you get a chance to do it where they’re still making history, where they’re still doing what they do,” Tyree Henry explains.
“I wanted to explore what that relationship was like with Jason because, you know, he is a character and a man that we so rarely see projected in cinema. This mentor, this man that is still in Flint doing this for the kids, not for fame, not for fortune, but because it’s what he wants to do. I know that I needed to see role models like that, especially portrayed in cinema. I needed to feel like I was giving back to my mentors that did that for me.”
Ryan Destiny signed on with the project for similar reasons. Recently, the actress was also nominated for Best Lead Performance at the 2025 Indie ‘Spirit Awards’ for the feature.
“People left the documentary ‘T-Rex’ thinking that I won a gold medal and that was it…[I had] no endorsements, no sponsorships, living in poverty. And I just was like, well, now with the movie that’s gonna be worldwide, I need it to where people understand. Don’t leave out any of the bad stuff. Put it all in there,” Shields continues.
“But just know, this isn’t a sad story. This is a very resilient story. I feel like this is a very fateful and a hopeful story. I don’t want nobody feeling sorry for me because I don’t feel sorry for myself. But I want them to know, I went through this, I went through that. Almost quit here. Almost gave up there. But look at where I am now. And being 29 years old.”
Rachel Morrison signed on to direct ‘The Fire Inside’ once she found out about Shields—and she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t heard it before.
“Claressa is such a badass force and an incredible athlete. And I follow sports, so for me to not know it, it felt like there was something wrong in the universe,” Morrison explains.
“I’d been reading for a long time and looking for something that felt, you know, meaningful and additive in the universe and that I could be additive to. There were things that I saw from my experiences being a female DP that I could put into it as well. But really it’s just Claressa’s story deserved to be out there.”
Along with Shields’ story, actor Bryan Tyree Henry is tackling another figure from the boxing world—Coach Jason Crutchfield.
“I think every actor with their weight in salt looks for that moment where we get to actually play somebody that’s real, that’s actually living and breathing. But so rarely do you get a chance to do it where they’re still making history, where they’re still doing what they do,” Tyree Henry explains.
“I wanted to explore what that relationship was like with Jason because, you know, he is a character and a man that we so rarely see projected in cinema. This mentor, this man that is still in Flint doing this for the kids, not for fame, not for fortune, but because it’s what he wants to do. I know that I needed to see role models like that, especially portrayed in cinema. I needed to feel like I was giving back to my mentors that did that for me.”
Ryan Destiny signed on with the project for similar reasons. Recently, the actress was also nominated for Best Lead Performance at the 2025 Indie ‘Spirit Awards’ for the feature.
The ‘Gypsy King’ retires with an impressive record of 34 victories and two defeats, both coming against Usyk, while never suffering a knockout loss throughout his career.
Despite confronting numerous challenges, counting a intense childhood and budgetary battles, Mayweather devoted himself to boxing. His tireless work ethic, coupled with his common aptitude, moved him to victory. At fair 19 a long time ancient, he won the bronze decoration in the featherweight division at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, making him a family title and opening the entryway to his momentous proficient career.
Davis is one of boxing’s most thunderous punchers, having eviscerated almost all of his 30 opponents to date, winning by knockout 28 times from 30 outings. He’s a bona fide ticket seller, a pay-per-view attraction, and one of the sport’s finest pound-for-pound talents.
In 2023, Davis defeated Garcia by knockout with a particularly nasty shot to the body. The Las Vegas gate generated more than $20 million, per GIVEMESPORT sources, and was a runaway success on pay-per-view as it sold to approximately 1.2 million households in the US alone.
The referee stopped the contest after the third knockdown as Shields secured her first stoppage since 2017.
“I’ve had some great performances, but is it my best knockout? Absolutely,” Shields said.
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Shields grew up poor in Flint, Michigan, and has earned enough money to become rich at 28. Still, she laments the gender inequities in boxing.
Shields is 13-0 with two knockouts. She turned pro in 2016 after becoming the first U.S. boxer of any gender to win consecutive Olympic gold medals and is averaging two fights a year.
In a video posted on Instagram, Fury confirmed his decision to retire from boxing.
Fury retires as a two-time heavyweight world champion, having first won the title by defeating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. After a three-year hiatus, he returned to beat Deontay Wilder in their 2020 rematch to claim the WBC title. Fury successfully defended his crown against Wilder again in 2021 and later against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora in 2022.
So what happened is, that Tank, despite having a bout against Lamont Roach Jr. scheduled for March 1, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, hopped on an Instagram live session recently to make a bold statement. Confident as ever, he said, “I’ll tax that a– again. Tell them boys to give me $150 m’s. I’m coming,” while being asked about a Ryan Garcia rematch.
Gervonta Davis’ strategy is another factor to consider. While Ryan Garcia has made adjustments, Gervonta Davis is unlikely to change much about his approach. The WBA lightweight champion is a smart fighter. The first fight was a perfect example of how he can break down an opponent’s defense with his patience and timing. “Tank would likely stick to his game plan of staying patient, reading Garcia’s movements, and capitalizing on mistakes,” the model asserted.
Gervonta Davis’ strategy is another factor to consider. While Ryan Garcia has made adjustments, Gervonta Davis is unlikely to change much about his approach. The WBA lightweight champion is a smart fighter. The first fight was a perfect example of how he can break down an opponent’s defense with his patience and timing. “Tank would likely stick to his game plan of staying patient, reading Garcia’s movements, and capitalizing on mistakes,” the model asserted.
Fury’s announcement comes after he was beaten by Oleksandr Usyk in a unanimous decision on December 21 in their rematch, which saw the Ukrainian unify the heavyweight world titles.
Though ‘Money’ Mayweather hasn’t had the same impact as Ali away from the sport, he changed the game in many ways. Perhaps the best defensive fighter of all time, Mayweather claimed four of the top five biggest selling pay-per-view events ever on his way to a perfect 50-0 record and titles in five divisions.
Mayweather doesn’t buy that the more thrilling the fight the better the fighter, rather that he proved he was the greatest by completely outclassing those who stepped in the ring with him.