Flint native Claressa Shields continues to make history in the boxing ring Shields set to box Friday night in Flint Published: Updated: Tags: Flint’s Claressa Shields is a boxing champion who has been making history for years. She’s primed to do it again on Friday night. Shields was 17 years old when she became the first American woman to win gold in boxing in the 2012 Olympics. She became the first American boxer, male or female, to win gold in back-to-back Olympic games. It was impossible until I did it.— Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) January 27, 2021 “When I started I knew I would be a great boxer, win the Olympics, everything else has just happened,” Shields said.