Claressa Shields has carved an incredible legacy in the world of boxing, becoming a trailblazer and an inspiration for athletes everywhere. Known as "The GWOAT" (Greatest Woman of All Time), Shields is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the first boxer in history — male or female — to hold all four major world titles in boxing simultaneously in two weight classes. Her journey from Flint, Michigan, to global boxing superstardom is not only a testament to her unmatched skill but also her resilience in overcoming life’s challenges.

This incredible story is now the focus of the highly anticipated film, The Fire Inside, which premiered on Christmas Day of 2024. Starring Ryan Destiny as Claressa Shields and Brian Tyree Henry as her trainer, Jason Crutchfield, the film delves into the extraordinary bond between an athlete and coach, capturing the grit and determination that propelled Shields to become one of the greatest fighters in the world.

During this chat, Shields and the co-leads shared how they have learned lessons, overcome obstacles, and grown as people, both in the ring and on-screen.

“You can lose a fight, but you can’t let anyone take your heart.” That line feels like the soul of the film. In your own life, has there been a time when you felt like you had to protect your "heart" above all else, even if you didn’t come out victorious?

Brian Tyree Henry: Oh, always. Those come and go quite often. I think one of the biggest ones is when I lost my mother, and it was at the height or the beginning of my career, and I really didn't think I could go on. I really felt like every interview, every person that I met could see that grief on me but then I'm also battling all the accomplishments that were happening at the same time. So being like, but you should be so excited and so happy. I'm like, but this person that means the most to me isn't here. When I realized that she is my heart, you know, and that I was hers and that this is what she wanted for me, it kept my head up, it kept me going. It’s interesting to come to this place where I'm playing this character who is like a father figure who saw the potential in someone who is trying to nurture that potential and pouring into them. I felt like this movie came at a really amazing time for me to really address those feelings, to let go of a lot of those feelings and to just reestablish my heart again. I'm very grateful to Claressa and Jason and to see this kind of connection, but also to my mother. I just know that she had a hand in me being here. She was my fire inside. I absolutely can relate to that very, very, very closely.

Winning your first big movie role, like winning gold for Claressa, must have been a proud moment. Outside of this movie, what moment in your career so far has made you stop and say, “I’m really proud of myself”?

Ryan Destiny: It had to be when I saw one of the first cuts of the film – I think it was just before all, like, the music and some of the VFX were in. I sat at the MGM Theater and watched it for the first time by myself. I believe my mother was with me, too. I went in thinking I was going to hate something because I am very overcritical of myself – very Capricorn of me. When I saw it for the first time, I cried because I was very, very proud and that was kind of new for me to feel that way in that way before. It was a really nice moment.

Is there a fear or challenge you still hesitate to face? How do you approach conquering those inner battles?

Claressa Shields: One of my biggest challenges now is I want to have a baby. I've never played with my body like that before and all the women in my family are kind of heavyset while I’m very slim and thick. When I get pregnant, I'm gonna get thicker and I'm gonna get bigger. It's one of those things that sometimes I kind of struggle with sometimes. I’m 29 years old now and I wanna have a baby next year. I look forward to just raising my kid, raising the kid that came from me. I would love to raise my kid in a two-parent household. If not a two-parent household, I'm still gonna raise my kid just as fine. I wanna see the personality that my kid is gonna have and I wanna see how my kid feels when he discovers or she discovers that, oh, mommy was a champion, mama was a fighter. I didn't tell my niece that I was a boxer, and I didn't tell my nephew that I was a boxer. YouTube did that (laughs).

The film explores what it means to get out of your own way. Name a time you found yourself getting in your own way during your career and what’s a strategy you used to break free from that?

Ryan Destiny: I mean, I sometimes, I think, especially in the past, was very okay with not, I guess, applying myself in a way that was, I guess, more in the forefront of things. I was very okay with chillin’ in the background – just, like, very don't see me, don't look at me over here and being in my comfort zone. I think that that for me is something that I've had to check myself on and just get out of. You’re not serving yourself doing that and I think that comes from a lack of belief in yourself too. It’s definitely grown over the years for me – I have evolved a bit and grown in that way and have a better confidence about myself and especially after this film as well. Meeting someone like Claressa has also changed me a lot in how I see myself and how you should love yourself and take care of yourself. She’s someone that I think we should all learn from, especially with that topic in particular and staying out of your own way. She’s someone that has taught me a lot about that and that's kind of one example for me.

Brian Tyree Henry: I think I spent a lot of my life trying to blend in. By the time I was 11 years old, I was 6'1" tall, very dark-skinned, and trying to fit in at the time and blend in. No matter how much I tried to, I just couldn't. There was nothing about me that was what people would say, “conventional.” I learned to stop caring. I was like blending is for smoothies. I also would try to fit certain standards of like trying to be tougher, trying to be meaner, trying to just like having this exterior, this protection of always feeling like I'm untouchable. I'm really light and fun and happy. I shouldn't change that for anybody. It's always so funny to see people when they meet me in real life and they're just like, “Oh, you're not what we thought you were at all.” It's like, well, that's your fault. You should have never boxed me that way to begin with. I just hope that I continue as I'm getting older, I'm like, that is just so authentically who I am. Don't change that for anybody – stay light, stay airy, stay fun because that's just who you are. I think the whole thing of just getting rid of trying to blend has been the biggest lesson I've ever received in my life.

What does overcoming fear and discouragement look like for you now, and how do you channel that in your day-to-day life?

Claressa Shields: I don’t really fear anything, but I do feel discouraged at times. When I’m met with discouragement, I just work hard. I go to the gym, I start back my routine when I just feel like I'm just very low and everything. I get very, very strict when I feel discouraged because something I'm not doing right is making me feel discouraged. When I start working hard and get back in my routine, it helps me get back encouraged.

So, as a public figure, especially with the added pressures of social media, it can be challenging sometimes to resist responding to trolls or addressing discrepancies while maintaining your composure. What strategies do you use to navigate social media in these situations?

Claressa Shields: Sometimes you just have to look at the positive things on social media. Sometimes you just have to just block people. Just get them out of here. Also, hear me out, Ty, but sometimes you gotta take a break from social media. You gotta give yourself two or three days where you just delete the app. Delete the app, take a break from it, find other things to do, get outside. When you come back, you have a higher tolerance for the B.S. that's on there because everybody on social media creates these personas and people of who they are. It’s so fake and it's so made up. It’s kind of hard to deal with when you are a real one and I'm real. Sometimes I gotta take a break from all the fake stuff.

Is boxing something that you use as a stress reliever or is there something else that helps you rest?

Claressa Shields: I like resting at home and binge-watching TV series. Right now, I’m watching “Fight Night” on Peacock. I also need to catch up on “Sistas” with Tyler Perry – I would love to work with him one day. I want to be in one of his movies one day. I like to hang with my friends. I can cook. I can make some baked mac and cheese – no crumbs on the top – and some yams. I like hanging out with whoever my boo is – that’s a stress reliever, too.

In the movie, conversations around consent emerge as pivotal moments. For you, what role does control — whether in boxing, acting, or life — play in shaping how you approach your relationships, decisions, and personal growth?

Brian Tyree Henry: Have you been talking to our therapist? I feel like you called somebody, Ty (laughs). That's the Aries in you – I get as a fellow Aries. Well, I've been saying it for most of the day about permission, right? Like how we, especially as black people, feel like we must ask permission sometimes to even exist. It's not true. We don't have to and that’s what I love most about Claressa because she walked into this gym and was like, “You're gonna train me.” Not only that, you're watching this story that is technically coming of age at the same time. You have this young woman at the age of 11 who was growing into a young woman, but also in the middle of this sport that is asking her to be so physical and so voracious and so while also being told she needs to be demure and she needs to be softer and her hair should look this way. Your identity needs to be this, but then it needs to be this. I think it's all about giving ourselves permission to be who the hell we want to be and to get the things that we know we deserve, because it is true. We don't give ourselves enough consent to exist and to be who we are. I hope that the takeaway from this movie, especially from the young Black women and girls who are going to watch this, is to walk out knowing that the only permission that you need is from yourself and that you have to allow yourself the space to exist and find your identity the way you want to find it, rather than what's being told of you to be.

Ryan Destiny: I think within this industry, as a woman, as a Black woman, you sort of struggle with that a little bit – understanding what consent is and what it means to you and what it looks like for you, and being able to control only yourself is the power in it all. Knowing your limits and what you will accept and what you won't accept, knowing when to say, “No,” knowing what you want and what you don't, and making that clear for other people and creating those boundaries, I think is something that is very, very important, especially as you navigate throughout this industry and maintaining that power that you have within yourself and not letting anyone, you know, dictate anything about you and how you move. Also, figuring it all out along the way, too.

Brian Tyree Henry: This movie is also about community. It really is about [Jason Crutchfield] and the city of Flint – just the city in and of itself was a nurturing part of her upbringing and when you find those communities that reflect back to you, hold on to them.

“For women, it’s not just about how skilled you are; it’s about proving you belong,” is one of the lines from the film. You fought for equal pay within your sport — do you think the sport has progressed since you’ve come on the scene and expressed the need for change?

Claressa Shields: Women's boxing changed from 2012 to 2024. It has changed, absolutely. I have made a million dollars a couple times now in boxing, and that's a lot of money for a woman fighter to make. I am pushing to where I get them to give me... where I can fight for two million and fight for five and fight for more. I believe that I'll be the first woman athlete to get one of those big deals where it's like I signed on a $30 million deal for three, four fights. I think I'll be one of the first women to get that type of deal. Equal pay isn’t there, but it has definitely changed. We got some work to do, but I'm not the only woman making a million dollars. We got Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, who made a million dollars, too – we all made our little chicken.