Jason Crutchfield gives Claressa Shields some pointers at Berston Field House
/ Earl Arms
Since she was eleven years old, boxing coach Jason Crutchfield has been training Claressa Shields to become someone special.
The U.S. boxer didn't look at it the same way--not at first.
"He would take me to boxing matches and I wouldn't say anything," Shields said. "The only thing I'd answer to is if I was hungry."
The Flint Northwestern senior admitted she had some anger issues that stopped her from embracing her coach. Crutchfield took notice.
"I'd holler at her and she'd holler back," Crutchfield said. "But then I told her no matter what people say, you don't get out of line."
"And then he told me to keep my manners," Shields said. "Now we rarely get into it."
Crutchfield became a father-figure to Shields as he helped save her from the mean streets of Flint.
"I'm thankful because I've seen a lot," Crutchfield said. "I just grabbed her and told her, 'we're not going that way.'"
"Smoking, drinking, partying - I could have easily done it," Shields said. "But I took a different route."
Together, they took the route to London, fighting for the United States in the Olympics.
Shields and Crutchfield have trained at Berston Field House, a storied gym that has seen the best fighters in the country. Crutchfield believes Shields belongs at the top of the list.
"I'm very proud to train someone that could go to the Olympics and do well at the Olympics," Crutchfield said.
Shields gives credit to God for bringing her to Crutchfield - forming a medal-winning combination.
''It's like, this is one side and this is another," Shields said. "Gold, gold. Bam!"
Crutchfield was there as Shields won her first-ever OIympic match in the women's middleweight quarterfinals, defeating Swedish fighter Anna Laurell. She'll now face Kazakhstan's Marina Volnova in the semifinal on Wednesday.
