American boxer Claressa Shields’ story is the stuff that makes every great legend – a hero coming from humble beginnings, only to overcome great adversity to achieve the impossible. In a new episode for BBC Sport’s docu-series Born to Brawl, the now pound-for-pound champion looks back on her past struggles that she endured and what it took to get her to get where she is today, all in anticipation for her June 3rd fight against Hanna Gabriels.
Atlantic assembled a crew local to Detroit, with our director of photography, filming on a Canon C500 Mk II, and sound recordist joining BBC Sport’s producer-director to film Shields over the course of three days. Our crew captured the master interview with Shields, and followed her as she trained, attended a press conference, prayed pre-fight in her locker room, and joined her ringside at the main event. They even went back to film in her childhood neighborhood in Flint, Michigan – a place that our DP, a native of Flint, was already intimately familiar with and who had filmed with Shields before. All was shot in true documentary style, which some might consider an Atlantic specialty.
Check out the documentary on BBC Sports’ official YouTube channel, or at the player below!
Content advisory: this episode of Born to Brawl contains references to physical and sexual assault, as well as sensitive mental health issues. If you or anyone you know suffers from ongoing or emergency mental health issues, there are options available for support.
