T-Rex

In the new Olympic sport of women’s boxing, 17-year-old Claressa Shields— nicknamed “T-Rex” for her ferocious fighting style—bursts out from the total obscurity of a small Flint, Michigan, gym to compete for a coveted gold medal. The product of an unstable home life in a city better known for its high unemployment and murder rates than for its declining industry, Shields refuses to surrender to the negative forces surrounding her. Instead, she nurses a dream of becoming a champion boxer, willing herself to the gym where she changes the mind of a coach who doesn’t believe that women should use their fists. This documentary captures Shields’ long-shot quest, the tenacious sparring with boys during her training, private moments of doubt and the frustrating struggle to find endorsements in a world not sold on women’s boxing, all of it leading to electrifying bouts during the 2012 London Olympics. Filmmakers Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari capture Shields’ mighty ascent in a tale that possesses all of the adrenaline and force of her right hook, yet is also intimate, emotional and exhilarating. —Gustavus Kundahl