Claressa Shields

“I have a healthy respect. The fact that I get ready for each opponent shows my respect.”

“When I was in juniors, I was fighting twice a year and going nine months without fighting.”

“I felt abandoned at a young age. That's where most of my anger came from, I guess.”

“I get recognized at the airport and at the malls in Colorado.”

“Confident is believing in yourself. Being humble is, even though you believe in yourself and you know what you're capable of, you still work 10 times harder than your opponent to make sure you get the output you want.”

“I take the toughest challenges and fight against the best women. With that attitude, I will always be doing something big. I'm light-years ahead of my time.”

“The first punch I learned was the jab. Second, the cross punch; third, the hook - after that, all the combinations and how to move my head and feet. It took me just two months to be ready to get in the ring!”

“From my first fight, I loved being in the ring. I tune everything out - the lights, the smells, the noise - so I'm in this zone where I'm performing only for myself.”

“When I was 16, coming up through now at 24, it was so much I thought I had to change about myself. Especially after I won the Olympics.”

“Living in Flint, poverty is an obstacle that you have to fight through. I always had to fend for my brother and sister - I was always the one to sacrifice my meals so that they could eat.”

“Being a woman fighter, I can't just go out there and manhandle a girl, I need to be very strategic: Use my skills, head movement and defence, then seek and destroy.”

“Flint is not a hopeless city and I mean that.”

“At the end of the day, I am the cash cow in women's boxing.”

“Balancing around the holidays is something I've been doing for years. I saved a lot of money by not going home for Christmas, that's for sure. But I still spoke with all my family and connected with everyone.”

“My life is way bigger than boxing or acting or being rich or being famous or endorsements.”

“I have a lot of cousins that I don't know. But I think that happens to any celebrity. I wonder how many cousins does Michael Phelps have?”