‘The Fire Inside’: Inspiring True Story About Olympic Boxing

Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny) and coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) hit mitts, in "The Fire Inside." Amazon MGM Studios

PG-13 | 1h 49m | Sports Biopic, Action | Dec. 25, 2024

“Sprint: The World’s Fastest Humans”—about the longstanding, intense rivalry between the American and Jamaican sprinting teams—is a Netflix documentary series featuring track and field stars of the 2024 Paris Olympics, such as Gabby Thomas and Noah Lyles.

What’s especially notable (in addition to the electrifying track phenoms) is Dennis Mitchell, the avuncular male coach of American female speedsters Sha'Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson, and TeeTee Terry. Mitchell’s fatherly, comforting, and inspirational role in preparing these star athletes is the heart of the series. At one point, he says, “It’s a father-daughter relationship.” It’s possible this is the first time that idea really hit home for him, because he chokes up immediately and can’t continue speaking. That’s my favorite moment.

Paris Olympics silver medalist Sha'Carri Richardson with coach Dennis Mitchell. The Mega Agency

Olympic Boxing

That selfsame father-daughter relationship is to be found in the excellent new sports biopic “The Fire Inside.” It’s about the meteoric rise of female middleweight boxing phenom and two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa “T-Rex” Shields. She’s the only boxer, male or female, to have won gold in two consecutive Olympics (2012 and 2016). She’s since gone on to become a professional and a champion, but her relationship with her supportive boxing coach Jason Crutchfield (outstandingly portrayed by Brian Tyree Henry) is the film’s heart.

Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny) and coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) talk strategy between rounds, in "The Fire Inside." Amazon MGM Studios

While inspirational films like “Hidden Figures,” and “Akeelah and the Bee” have emphasized female intelligence over physical brawn—few other than, say, Halle Berry’s depressing “Bruised” (2021) have featured physical strength. Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby” (2004) depressingly addressed the women-in-violent-sports topic. “The Fire Inside” presents the true story of a female pugilist in such a way that people on both sides of the feminist and racial fences won’t feel arm-twisted, while telling an uplifting, rip-roaring tale about boxing.

Gritty like the original “Rocky” (1976) and the first “Creed” (2015), “The Fire Inside” is also a love letter to the much-maligned Flint, Michigan, in the same way “Rocky” was to Philadelphia.

Beginnings

Tracking young Claressa (Jazmin Headley) doing her boxing roadwork, the opening aerial shot descends to the bleak snowy landscape, flying over dilapidated houses, rusted cars, moldy leftover remnants in barren fridges, and multiple children packed in one bed like Dr. Seuss’s Whos down in Who-ville.

We gradually find a warm sense of community. We discover Americans in this beat-down but resilient town watching their homegrown hero in bars and backyard gatherings, and putting their hands over their hearts at the American national anthem, and we think, “Ah, I feel I know the good people of Flint, Michigan.” Europeans are routinely baffled by (and wistful about) the huge sense of family that American culture has.

Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny, second from right) inspires the neighborhood kids, in "The Fire Inside." Amazon MGM Studios

The film opens with the start of Shields’s journey to her first gold medal win. The young Claressa hangs doggedly around the local boxing gym until head coach Jason, who initially claims he doesn’t train girls, takes note of her spunk. Following his intuition, he spontaneously puts her up against a little loudmouth boastful boy, and ‘Ressa (as Jason soon affectionately calls her) immediately hands the li'l braggart a decisive behind-whuppin’ without even knowing what she’s doing yet.

Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny) preparing for a tough opponent, in "The Fire Inside." Amazon MGM Studios

The film then moves from 2006 to 2011. Claressa is now 16 years old (and played by Ryan Destiny). Despite a many-tentacled family life involving overwhelmed and self-involved mother Jackie (Olunike Adeliyi), pregnant little sister Keisha (Teanna Weir), a latch-key younger brother (Sekhai Jayden Smith), a father recently released from prison (Adam Clark), and a persistent boyfriend (Idrissa Sanogo), Claressa is at the top of Jason’s stable of boxers, with Olympic possibilities on the horizon.

Coach-Dad

Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny) and coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) hit mitts, in "The Fire Inside." Amazon MGM Studios

Brian Tyree Henry’s portrayal is Oscar nomination-worthy. As Jason steps into a parental role as well as a coach, when Claressa is forced to move in with his family, the dynamic between Jason and ‘Ressa evolves and matures. Henry displays the true-north dad-ability of managing to be stern and compassionate simultaneously. While wearing his love and admiration for his young protégé on his sleeve, he also keeps her focused on becoming the best she can be and reigns in her rebellious, hormonal teen tendencies, especially the ones having to do with boys.

That said, the Americans-know-how-to-have-fun scene that remains warmly in mind is ‘Ressa’s prom. The high schoolers go big—she in a hot-pink prom dress donated by a local seamstress, her boyfriend in a white tux with hot-pink highlights, and arriving in a rented hot-pink ’68 Camaro muscle car that glows in the dusk. Now, ain’t that America?

Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny) and coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) at the Olympics, in "The Fire Inside." Amazon MGM Studios

The Issues

The deeper message here is social commentary on pay equity in sports and the highlighting of Shields’s trailblazing advocacy for women in sports, her battles in and outside of the ring, and the double standards she faced as a black female athlete in a violent sport.

Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny, center) and fellow Olympic athletes cheer American swimmer Michael Phelps at the 2012 Olympics, in "The Fire Inside." Amazon MGM Studios

As I recently noted in “The Herricanes,” a documentary about the first all-female football league, football players are a tribe, regardless of gender, who, in their own words, like to hit people. Boxers, male and female, are a tribe who like to hit people too. Should women be hitting people?

These are all moot issues, in one sense, because Claressa is currently making millions as a professional boxer. It’s also already been a decade since, at UFC 193 (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the model-pretty former pro boxer Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm (recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame) knocked out the model-pretty, trailblazing Olympic judo bronze medalist and UFC superstar Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey.

But I say again—should women be hitting people for a living? If that’s their all-encompassing life dream, why not? But the notions that men and women should be equal in all things comes from modern ideas; the inherent divide-and-conquer intention of which pits men and women against one another. This divisiveness is not constructive. Suffice it to say, people are waking up to the fact, in a variety of ways, that realignment with tradition is the healthiest path for humankind.

Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny), in "The Fire Inside." Amazon MGM Studios

Ryan Destiny, a Michigan native from nearby Detroit, does an outstanding job portraying scrappy, no-nonsense, underdog “T-Rex” (Claressa is hilariously nicknamed “T-Rex” due to having short arms). I was hoping the script would include some kind of joke involving the Broadway show title “Your Arms Too Short to Box With God.” But one thing coach Dennis Mitchell notes in “Sprint” is that extremely fast sprinters come in all sizes; from the towering 6-foot, 5-inch Usain Bolt, to the diminutive 5-foot-nothing Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown similarly noted that when he got to the NFL, he discovered that tough guys come in all sizes—what the little guys lacked in size and strength they would more than make up for in accuracy and meanness.

It’s rare that an individual gets a biopic made about themselves while still in their prime. Clearly ‘Ressa’s arms were long and strong enough to clear a path for little girls everywhere, who can now be inspired by her example, to break the bonds of poverty via rigorous discipline, pain tolerance, abstinence, focus, refusal to quit, and the dedication to one’s God-given talents.

“The Fire Inside” is a fulfilling drama that will appeal to family audiences. Opening in theaters Dec. 25, 2024.

Promotional poster for "The Fire Inside." Amazon MGM Studios

‘The Fire Inside’ Director: Rachel Morrison Starring: Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, Olunike Adeliyi MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 hour, 49 minutes Release Date: Dec. 25, 2024 Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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