RIO DE JANEIRO — Claressa Shields wants to make history in Brazil.
Claressa Shields wants to be a household name in boxing — and Hollywood
Knocking out someone at the Olympics and then appearing on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ would make her day.
Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
At age 17, Shields became the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing at the 2012 Games in London. Four years later, she attempts to become the first American boxer to win back-to-back Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“It would mean a lot,” Shields said. “It’s a very reachable goal. I think I’m going to do it dominantly. Hopefully I’ll knock somebody out here. I’ve been training so hard. It would mean a lot to me, it would mean a lot to my family.”
Outside of the boxing rings, the talented middleweight is getting more used to being an attraction. T-Rex, a documentary about her route to the London Olympics, just premiered on PBS. Shields wants to be on TV more often, and not just to play herself.
“My agent has a lot of things going back at home,” she said. “Right now, I guess some things are in the works. I wanna be an actress. That’s what I wanna do. I also want to be a dominant boxer. Who knows if I come back for 2020.
“But, also, I will be in acting. Hopefully I can do things like Dancing with the Stars. I mean, I’m down for all that stuff. I think I can dance a little bit [laughs]. I’m just taking this journey as far as I can take it. I believe that I’m going to be a household name after this Games.”
Punching someone in the face will always be her passion, though, and she wants to be the one to change its landscape of women’s boxing after Rio 2016.
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