Claressa Shields Celebrates 21st Birthday With Second Olympic Berth

By Jake Donovan

Four years ago, Claressa Shields made history in becoming the first American female boxer to claim an Olympic Gold medal. On Thursday, she celebrated her 21^st birthday by securing second tour on amateur boxing’s grandest stage.

“I can officially say I'm a two-time Olympian, one-time Olympic gold medalist,” said Shields, who claimed a 3-0 win over Dominican Republic’s Yenebier Guillen Benitez during Thursday’s semifinal round of the Americas Qualifier event in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “It feels great. I'm ready for Rio; I'm ready to conquer the other side of the world now.”

It didn’t take long for Shields to establish a level of dominance she has carried for as long as she’s been competing in the amateur ranks. Three days after shutting out Panama’s Atheyna Byion to advance to the semifinals, the 165 lb. star from Flint, Mich. forced Guillen into her brand of fighting. A brief feeling out process gave way to a frenetic pace, with Shields landing in combination and often without response.

The trend continued in rounds two and three, the message loud and clear that the defending Gold medalist isn’t taking anything for granted in her historic run.

“The plan was to stay off the ropes, box to my left and step with my jab,” said Shields of her landslide victory. “The only round I didn't follow the plan was the second round. The coaches told me and I got right back to it.

“I didn't really go in there and have fun this match. Some I did, but not a lot because I knew it was a serious match and I didn't want to end up with a split decision so I tried to pick it and try to break away from her because he's a tough competitor. She's better than (Byion) so I had to do a little more.”

Shields was able to enjoy herself at fight’s end. Immediately following the decision came the celebration of her 21^st birthday, complete with her teammates joining in a “Happy Birthday To You” group rendition.

With the qualifying win, Shields becomes the first-ever U.S. female boxer to compete in two consecutive Olympic games, regardless of the turnout of her Saturday finals showdown with Canada’s Ariane Fortin-Bruchu, who claimed a split decision win over Brazil’s Andreia de Oliveira Bandeira.

Having traveled into London as a 17-year old during the 2012 competition, Shields defied the odds to come home with the sport’s highest prize – the first U.S. boxer to earn a Gold medal since Andre Ward claimed such honors in the 2012 Athens Olympics. Now a full-grown 21-year old woman and with four more years of world competition under her belt, it’s clear she will be the one to beat in Rio.

“The first go-round I was the underdog; this (time), I (come in as) the top dog,” Shields notes. “I like them both. I think people think that when you've been on top so long, you stop training as hard and that you get big headed. I'm not one of those people but it plays to my favor when a girl is working hard and she thinks that I'm not working hard.

“When I was the underdog, nobody knew who I was. I think that both of them are good but being the top dog and people thinking I have a big head is an advantage for me.”

Saturday’s lightweight finals will determine whether Mikaela Mayer gets to join Shields in Rio. The Los Angeles-bred boxer managed a majority decision win over Puerto Rico’s Kiria Tapia, whom bested Mayer in the 2015 Pan Am qualifiers.

“Revenge is sweeter when I had to fight her for two qualifying fights. The first was for the Pan Am Games,” noted Mayer. “Now I focus on my next opponent and I don't even know who it is because Billy (Walsh, head coach for the U.S. Female boxing team) wouldn't let me look at my bracket from the beginning. I see why now because I had the toughest bracket. I had to fight all the top girls and I dealt with it one fight at a time so it worked really well for me.”

Mayer will face Mexico’s Victoria Torres in the finals on Saturday.

The afternoon also saw Virginia Fuchs eliminated from competition, although she will have another opportunity to qualify later this spring. The flyweight from Texas dropped a three-round unanimous decision to Colomboa’s Victoria Ingrit Lorena Valencia.

With the loss, Fuchs will have to claim a top-four finish in the Women’s World Championships this May in Kazakhstan in order to secure an Olympic berth. 

U.S. Female Results
112 lbs/female: Victoria Ingrit Lorena Valencia, COL, UD3 Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas/USA
132 lbs/female: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif./USA UD3 Kiria Tapia, PUR
165 lbs/female: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich./USA UD3 Yenebier Guillen Benitez, DOM

For full tournament brackets, click here.

Watch the entire competition live on http://tycsports.com.