Shields Biopic “The Fire Inside” Makes Los Angeles Debut Wednesday

Several stars hit the red carpet on Wednesday for the premiere of “The Fire Inside” in Los Angeles. The film is based on the story of Claressa Shields, two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-division world champion.

The movie follows Shields’ early years in boxing as she pushed through hardships and represented the United States at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, becoming the first woman to win a gold medal in boxing at 17 years old. Shields won her second gold medal at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. She remains the last American to win an Olympic boxing gold medal.

The film also looks at Shields’ struggle to get the recognition and endorsements she deserved as a female athlete, even after winning her medals.

The film marks the directorial debut of cinematographer Rachel Morrison, who earned an Oscar nomination for her work on 2018’s “Black Panther.” Presented by Amazon MGM Studios, “The Fire Inside” was written and produced by Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins.

Shields is played by actress Ryan Destiny, age 29, also a native of Detroit, Michigan. Destiny is best known for her roles in the Fox TV musical drama “Star” and the sitcom “Grown-ish.” Destiny said in an interview on the red carpet Wednesday the role was a challenge for her.

“I knew it would be scary, but I just kind of used that to my advantage and just jumped in full force,” said Destiny. “And I think that was very necessary too, and to understand how important a story like this is, and what it means for people, what it means for women, what it means for black women, what it means for female athletes.”

Destiny said after working with a boxing coach to train for the film, she has a new appreciation of what Shields and other female athletes like her have accomplished.

“You really can achieve anything if you have extreme belief in yourself, like Clarissa does. And I think she just really inspires me to do that. So I feel like her story will also do that as well, to have this just unwavering confidence that you are incredible.”

Jason Crutchfield and Claressa Shields attend the Los Angeles premiere Of “The Fire Inside” at DGA Theater Complex. Photo: Eric Charbonneau/Amazon MGM Studios via Getty Images

The film costars Oscar-nominated actor Brian Tyree Henry, who plays Jason Crutchfield, Shields’ long-time coach. “The Fire Inside” will debut in theaters on Dec. 25.

Destiny, said playing the role forced her to challenge herself, both mentally and physically. She worked with a boxing coach to prepare herself for playing the role. Destiny said she admires Clarissa Shields’ unwavering confidence in herself, and hopes that her story will inspire others to respect and appreciate female athletes.

Joining Shields, Crutchfield, Destiny, and Henry were Michael B. Jordan, Ayo Edebiri, Daniel Kaluuya, Chloe Bailey, Diana Nyad, Kiki Layne, Serena Page and Kordell Beckham.

See “The Fire Inside” trailer here.

This week’s premiere wasn’t the first showing of the film. That honor went to Shields’ hometown of Flint, Michigan. Shields attended the screening of “The Fire Inside” at Cinemark Flint West 14​​​.  Shields rolled out the red carpet for family members, close friends, and cast members.

Khali Sweeney, founder and CEO of the Downtown Boxing Gym in Detroit, also walked the red carpet while being interviewed about earlier moments in Shields’ boxing career.

Shields talked about the movie coming together and depicting her life, saying she had utmost confidence in Barry Jenkins after reading the script.

“You know, being a woman in a male-dominated sport has never been easy. I have just been blessed with a god gift, the gift that I have,” said Shields.”It was so much hard work, so much loud voices, so much people saying, ‘Oh, that’s not, that’s not ladylike, and I had to always stand up for the women in boxing and kind of demanding that we get treated the same.”

Shields added she hopes moviegoers seeing the film will use it for inspiration in their own lives.

“The fire inside of them is burning. They can go chase whatever goals that they have in life. I hope that they see that if I made it, how come they can’t?”

Claressa Shields: Greatest Woman Boxer of All Time

Claressa Shields is now the WBC World Heavyweight champion. Photo: Salita Promotions

For those living under a rock (surely not NY Fights readers), Claressa Shields has held multiple world championship belts in five weight divisions, including her reign as the undisputed, unified junior middleweight champion since March 2021. She is the current WBO World light heavyweight champion and WBC heavyweight champion.

Shields held the WBC and IBF super middleweight titles in 2017 and 2018.

Shields currently holds the record for becoming both a two and three-division world champion in the fewest professional fights among both men and women. Calling herself the “GWOAT,” Shields is among a handful of women’s professional boxers considered the top pound-for-pound boxers active today.

Shields is one of only four boxers in history, female or male, to hold all four major world titles in boxing—WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO in two weight classes.

Shields says she will defend her world heavyweight title on February 2, 2025. No opponent has yet been named.