Shields Becomes First American Boxer To Win Two Gold Medals With Defeat Of Nouchka Fontijn.
USA Today
Claressa Shields claimed her second gold medal earlier today, successfully defending the gold medal she won in the 2012 Olympic games in the women's middleweight division with a unanimous decision victory of Netherlands' Nouchka Fontijn. Claressa started out the first round slow but was clearly the more effective puncher as the round drew to a close. Her head movement flustered her Dutch opponent throughout the bout, which led to openings for powerful counters from Shields. She dominated the rest of the rounds although two of the judges scored round 4 in favor of Fontin, possibly a reaction to Shields showboating and taunting her opponent.
Shields dominant performance rounded out what can be considered the best US boxing team finish in recent years with Nico Hernandez earning a bronze medal, Shakur Stevenson winning silver, and Shields with the lone US gold medal of the tournament. Shields felt she he had a lot to fight for in these games due to the current nationally publicized water crisis in her native hometown of Flint, MI. PBS aired a documentary about her upbringing prior to the start of the games but Universal Pictures is also planning to produce movie about the 21-year old's life after purchasing rights to her story in March.