If you want to be the best, it’s not enough to just be good. You have to have the drive, the determination, the discipline. You need a fire inside you—something that ignites your passion and keeps you going even when the going gets tough.
Claressa Shields has the fire inside … but her dream to become an Olympic gold medalist in boxing won’t be easy.
When Claressa first expressed an interest in boxing, everyone told her, “No.” Girls don’t box, they’d say. It’s a man’s sport.
Claressa refused to listen. Instead, she showed up at the gym every day. That a feat in and of itself, since she lived some distance away and didn’t have any transportation beyond her own two feet. And she kept practicing until Jason Crutchfield, the volunteer boxing coach, finally agreed to teach her.
It’s been a long and arduous journey. Along the way, Claressa gets kicked out of her mother’s house. She goes through a tough breakup with her boyfriend and longtime sparring partner to focus on her task. Her younger sister gets pregnant. And her absentee father shows up to stir the pot.
But all of her hard work is finally going to pay off. Claressa just needs to win her next few fights in Shanghai, China, and she’ll qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Unfortunately, as Claressa soon learns, if you want your dreams to come true, it may not be enough just to be the best.
Claressa is an impressive woman. She faces insurmountable odds to win her boxing titles. She comes from a poor family. She doesn’t have the advantage of professional trainers and chefs. She’s competing in a sport that doesn’t just ignore female athletes, it actively tries to discourage them from participating in it. And she’s still in high school.
It’s not an easy fight for Claressa—literally or figuratively. She’s trying to help her family out with bills and food, but the sponsorships she was promised just aren’t coming through. She and Jason have a falling out, since she blames him for her lack of success post-Olympics. And she nearly gives up boxing entirely.
But her friends and family stand behind Claressa. They keep encouraging her. And more importantly, Claressa refuses to give up on herself. Boxing is her passion, and she’s not going to let anyone quash her dreams, no matter what the world says.
Bridges are burned with some friends and family members, but Claressa finds ways to put aside her anger (even when that anger is very justified) and mend those relationships. And in the cases where Claressa is at fault, she finds forgiveness in return.
Claressa becomes a champion for female boxers, advocating for equal pay and dismissing societal beauty standards. She also successfully changes several people’s minds about the capabilities of female boxers.
Jason has Claressa’s back and even corrects some people who talk down to her for no other reason than that she’s a girl. In fact, he’s Claressa’s No. 1 cheerleader. Throughout her journey, Jason encourages her, supports her and constantly pushes her to be better. And his family provides a home for Claressa after her mom kicks her out.
We see that Claressa does indeed have a very tumultuous home life. However, she is incredibly loyal to her family, even when they let her down. She continues to show them love. And for all their faults, it seems as though Claressa’s parents really do love her, too, even though they clearly have some personal issues they need to work through.
Jason wears a cross necklace and kisses it once in prayer. Another man crosses himself in prayer just before one of Claressa’s fights. There’s a church in the background of one scene.
Jason tells Claressa she’s not allowed to date while she’s training, warning her that boys will leave her “high and dry.” However, Claressa ignores this advice, beginning a relationship with Lil’ Zay, her longtime sparring partner.
Zay and Claressa make out while laying on a bed (he’s shirtless). But when he reaches under her shirt, Claressa stops him. She tells him about some past sexual trauma (more on that in Violent Content), asking him to take things slow with her, which he respects.
Eventually, the couple moves in together, and we see them snuggling in bed (again, with Zay shirtless). Elsewhere they kiss and hold hands. Several teenage couples dance together at prom. A married couple kisses. Claressa’s younger sister gets pregnant and raises her baby alone.
Claressa and other female athletes sometimes box and train in sports bras and crop tops. Several teenage girls wear formfitting prom dresses.
When Jason and Claressa first begin training, he tries to give her a hug, but she’s frightened. Later, we learn Claressa was sexually assaulted by a “friend” of her mom when she was little. The man is in prison now, but it explains Claressa’s hesitancy. When she’s older, another “friend” of her mother tries to grab her and dance with her at a house party; so she knocks him unconscious, resulting in her mom kicking her out of the house.
We witness many boxing matches. Sometimes the participants shed blood. A few are even knocked down. It’s all within boxing regulations, but it could be especially jarring for sensitive viewers, since the participants are all female. (Although Claressa trains with a male boxer to up her game.)
When her sister gets pregnant, Claressa asks her if she wants to go through with the birth (which she does).
Claressa can be a bit of a bully. And she tells several interviewers that she like to hit people and beat them up.
There are two uses of the f-word and 15 of the s-word. We hear about a dozen uses each of “d–n” and “h—.” And we also hear “a–,” “b–ch” and “p-ss.” God’s name is misused four times, twice paired with “d–n.”
Adults drink and smoke throughout the film, often at parties.
Throughout the film, many people make sexist remarks about Claressa and other female athletes. It’s noted that this behavior is deplorable, but little is done to correct it in the context of the story. Several female boxers (including Claressa) attempt to conform to beauty standards in order to get sponsorships from brands that would otherwise ignore their talents. And we learn that American male boxers, despite winning no Olympic medals, are paid three times as much as American female boxers, such as the gold-winning Claressa.
Jason insults a child after the boy makes fun of Claressa. He shows some other moments of immaturity, including a refusal to call Claressa to apologize after the pair have a falling out, even though he’s the adult in their relationship.
Someone calls Native Americans Indians, which is generally regarded as disrespectful. Claressa is insulted by a fellow Black boxer, who says Claressa should stay out of “brown folks’ business.”
Claressa’s father is in prison, though we don’t know what for. When he gets out, he tries to take credit for Claressa’s boxing success, since he was the one who first piqued her interest in the sport. Her mom also tries to claim some recognition for Claressa’s success, bragging about her daughter while never mentioning how she kicked Claressa out.
Claressa’s mom clearly has some issues. And while there’s certainly some sympathy to be had—she’s a single mom trying to provide for three kids—she also tends to be selfish and neglectful. Claressa comes home one night to find her mom drinking and smoking with a male friend while her two younger siblings have been locked in their room all day with no food.
When you watch a movie like The Fire Inside, it’s hard not to be impressed by the courage, tenacity and strength of Claressa Shields.
Nobody thought that Claressa—a teenage girl with a bad home life, from a poor town in Michigan, training with a volunteer coach—could succeed. Certainly nobody thought she could win a gold medal.
But Claressa had something inside her—a fire—that burned brighter and stronger than anything those doubters could throw at her. And she did win a gold medal … twice. (In fact, she’s the only American boxer, male or female, to win back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics.)
However, that isn’t to say her path hasn’t had its share of bumps in the road. The Fire Inside illustrates just how tough Claressa’s journey was. As such, this film doesn’t exactly take audiences down a straight and narrow path, either.
Language is the biggest issue here, including uses of the f-word and s-word. We hear about how Claressa was sexually assaulted when she was a child. And obviously, we see a lot of violence in the boxing ring (though all sanctioned by the sport), which could be jarring for some viewers since the participants are female.
Claressa herself can sometimes be a bully, even telling interviewers how much she enjoys beating people up in the ring. And sometimes her attitude leaves a lot to be desired. Claressa burns a lot of bridges on her way to the Olympic podium, and it takes a lot more work later on to make things right with those she’s wronged.
The Fire Inside is an inspiring tale, one that teaches us the power of perseverance. But it’s also one that families may want to consider with a note of caution.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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