Women’s boxing GWOAT Claressa Shields was in the headlines heavy the past few weeks as she became the centerpiece of a marital conflict between rapper Papoose and his wife rapper Remy Ma. Actually, Shields became the fourth layer of an already complicated entanglement between Remy and battle rapper Eazy The Block Captain.
While she deals with that drama and also accepts all of the publicity that comes with it, a new film about her life, “The Fire Inside,” tells the journey of Shields, the two-time Olympic boxing champion who is 15-0 as a professional.
Claressa Shields Tells Jemele Hill She Will Fight Remy Ma For $1
The boxing genius turned mixed martial artist appeared on this week’s episode of SPOLITICS,” hosted by Jemele Hill, where she discussed her new film, the Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight, and other topics.
Hill didn’t waste any time getting Shields to go viral across X, when the 29-year-old reiterated that she’d lay the leather something fierce to Remy Ma. Ever since Remy, born Reminisce Kioni Mackie, posted a text message exchange between Pap and Claressa, social media has been captivated by the turn of events. Remy and Pap have reportedly split for good, and Shields is allegedly dating Papoose and ready to throw hands with Remy basically for free.
Claressa Shields Tells Jemele Hill That Remy Ma Leaked Her Phone Number To Public: She’s Not Fighting Over Papoose
“How much money would it take for you to step in the ring with Remy Ma?” Hill asked, prompting the world boxing champ to start laughing. “At this point the girl leaked my number,” Shields, 29, responded.
“What!” Hill exclaimed. “Your actual telephone number?”
“So, at this point you can give me a dollar and I’ll put my hands on her,” Shields shot back. “A dollar. It don’t have nothing to do with whatever else, it’s just that part alone. … I’m a businesswoman, don’t leak my number. Why would you do that?”
Shields says she isn’t fighting over Papoose and made that clear in the freestyle she spit in front of her whip on IG. According to Shields, Remy leaked her number to the public, and she feels that’s crossing the line.
“Drama sells. I’m not into that beef. My smoke with her is posting my number,” Shields told Hill. “People like, ‘Oh, she wants to fight her [Remy] over a dude’ — stop it. Stop it, that is so beneath me. It’s the disrespect of the leaking my number part,” she explained. “That’s it.”
Who Plays Claressa Shields In Movie “The Fire Inside”?
Her life is a story of inspiration, rising from the challenging streets of Flint, Michigan, to become the most dominant women’s fighter in the sport.
Starring multi-talented performer Ryan Destiny as Shields (West Bloomfield High alum, who has appeared in the Fox series “Star” and the movie “A Girl Like Grace”) and Brian Tyree Henry (FX’s “Atlanta”) as her coach, Jason Crutchfield, the movie details the obstacles faced by Shields, from growing up in a low-income, dysfunctional home environment to the struggles she currently faces chasing a bag in a sport where biases close doors and endorsement deals, especially for women of color.
Shields, who started learning the basics of pugilism at the age of 11 would compete at the 2012 London Olympics at 17, then repeat as gold medal boxing champion at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, becoming the only U.S. boxer in history to earn back-to-back gold medals at the games, after repeatedly being told it couldn’t be done. Her training for that first Olympics is the focus of the movie.
As her name grew in stature Shields became the subject of a documentary, “T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold,” which won the Roger Ebert Prize at the 2015 Traverse City Film Festival.
“T-Rex” is the name that Shields was given early in her boxing journey for her short arms and aggressive fighting style.
“The Fire Inside,” inspired by the documentary, was written by Barry Jenkins, who directed and won an Oscar for co-writing 2016’s “Moonlight.”
Rachel Morrison, who previously made Oscar history by becoming the first woman nominated in the cinematography category for 2017’s “Mudbound,” is the director.
Who Wrote and Directed Claressa Shields Movie “The Fire Inside”?
Filming of the movie began in 2020 and lasted just two days before COVID-19 pandemic locked down the world. Shooting resumed in 2022 as the project moved from its original studio, Universal, to its new home, Amazon MGM.
“The simplest way to put it is that the story of making the movie mirrors a bit of Shields’ journey,” says Morrison of the delays.
The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in September, and now it’s available to the world.
Interestingly enough, Destiny says that the delays caused by COVID actually gave the young actress more time to train, refine her own boxing skills and develop a more convincing portrayal of Shields. She was also able to push her physical development to the limits.
“Definitely a lot of sweat, definitely a lot of time. Blood, sweat and tears, as you would say. That is definitely how it went for me,” Destiny said in an interview.
While Remy is no slouch when it comes to persevering, having spent seven years in prison for shooting her friend, Shields is also familiar with the struggle and, if anything, their recent spat on social media has put the spotlight back on both women who are still grinding towards more success and life goals within the entertainment business.
