Ep 09: The Politics of Fighting - Featuring Claressa Shields

Hey, what's up, everybody.

I'm Jammelle Hill and welcome to Politics and iHeart podcast and Unbothered Network production.

Time to get spolitical.

Last week, Time magazine revealed its Athlete of the Year, and.

The choice was Caitlyn Clark. Now, I thought the honor was well deserved.

When you look at this year, few, if any, athletes have had the impact that she's had on women's basketball, really on any sport at both the college and the professional level. And march, Clark became the NCAA men's and

Dallas Mavericks and the WNBA.

Clark won Rookie of the Year and her Indiana Fever team made the playoffs for the first time since twenty sixteen. Now, if I listed all the ratings records that Caitlin Clark broke in the WNBA. I'd be talking to you all for another hour, but I think you get what her impact.

Was this season.

Now, as part of This Time Magazine honor, writer Sean Gregory wrote a terrific piece about Clark, who hasn't done many one on one interviews this year. So this was the first time that we are hearing from her at length, or I should say the first time in some time we're hearing from her at lyngth and ball. Some of her supporters mad about the things she said.

Ever since Angel Reese did.

This, and Angel Reese knows a ring is coming.

Race has been part of the conversation, whether we like it or not. At that moment in the National Championship game between LSU and Iowa, racial battle lines were drawn.

Now, as Clark's popularity continued to explode.

Those of us with common sense and good observational skills could see the truth. While the majority of people root for Clark because she's a generational talent, there was another loud contingent in the room that saw Clark's success as an opportunity to let off some steam about how they really felt about black women. That loud contingent is now big mad because it turns out that Caitlyn Clark isn't nearly as hateful and unaware as they wanted her to be.

Those were her exact words. But here's the.

Quote that really pissed off her so called fans. Caitlin Clark said, I want to say I've earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been black players. The league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that highlight that talk about that and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible. I think it's very important. I have

Oh they was mad, heeded. How does fish grease that?

Clark not only acknowledged her privilege, but she then committed a deeper internal sin. She had the nerve to publicly acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of other black women black women. A lot of her fake fans again had that hatred for from conservative media personality Megan Kelly, who tweeted, look at this, she's on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention the self flagellation, the oh, please pay attention to the black players who are really

Kitlyn Clark could have said she supports black Santa's.

Santa Claus should not be a white man anymore.

Yet another person claiming it's racist to have a white Santa.

You know, and by the way, for all your kids watching at home, Sanna.

Just is white.

I bet Megan Kelly ain't even got a black coffee cup in her house because that's how much she can't stand black people now. Megan Kelly, though she wasn't the only one who took a leap off the Caitlyn Clark bandwagon because of her comments in Time magazine. Former college swimmer and right wing darling Riley Gaines came jumping off her griftin top rope to create size Clark as well. Gains tweeted, no one was asking for Kaitlin Clark to position herself as.

A right wing hero. All she needed to do was remain neutral. She's a phenim who inspires countless young girls to play and achieve, So I still have great admiration for her, but she missed the mark on this one. For those scoring at home.

In twenty twenty two, Riley Gaines finished fifth and the two hundred meter freestyle final at the NCAA Women's Championship. She soon because the winner of the race was transgender swimmer Leah Thomas. But even if Leah Thomas were not in that race, the highest Gains would have finished was fourth. An old girl been riding that fourth place finish to conservative media stardom ever since. If I'm Leah Thomas, I'm

This is a woman who comes off.

As very sure of herself and is certain about what she stands for.

There's always going to be some negativity, and I feel like you have had to answer more questions than anybody about the intersectionality of race and gender and sexuality in sport because of just who you are, and you represent

And I just want to know how you feel or how you.

Respond to some of those criticisms when you have to deal with something that it's really not your problem, Like I feel like it's them looking in a mirror a little bit, but it still comes down on your shoulders.

I feel like I always have had really good perspective on everything that's kind of happened in my life, whether that's been good, whether that's been bad. And then obviously coming to the WNBA, like I've said, I feel like I've earned every single thing that's happened to me over

Kate Le Clark is standing on who she is. Meanwhile, her critics are standing on some bullshit. I'm Jamel Hill, and I approve this message. Coming up next on Spolitics, my guest for this episode is another woman whose career is built on standing on business. She's a two time Olympic gold medalist who has multiple world championships and five weight classes. She's the first woman in history to earn

Claris.

I want to thank you so much for joining me. You're making history. You're the first person to actually be in studio with me.

In this podcast studio.

So I just want to thank you for blessing it, for ordaining it. Of course, especially a super talented woman like yourself, it makes it even more makes it even more special. But I'm going to start by asking you a question that I ask every guest that appears on this podcast, and that is, name the athlete or the sport that made you the athlete, Name the athlete or the moment that made you love sports?

Honest Lee, I have to say, like, my love for sports started with seeing Serena Williams play tennis.

This is before I was boxing.

You know, my grandma was a big uh Venus and Serena Williams fan, and.

We watched Dwight.

Howard growing up when he was a magic man and all that stuff or was it magic mean a miracle?

I think it's magic man.

And I have to say my grandma always was like, we watched Surrenda Williams player all the time.

So before I even chose boxing, I knew about tennis.

Did you ever think about playing tennis because you saw her?

No? But I wanted to do sports though.

I played basketball and football growing up and ran track, and then when I turned eleven, I started boxing. So before boxing, I had already kind of known I was an athlete. I ran track, I did karate, I played basketball, I played flag football in school. I played real football with the guys in the hood in the in the field. I've even strained. I even spranged my wrists one time because one of the guys tackled me.

Oh, y'all was out there for real, Like, yeah, So I always have love for sports, but I think seeing Serrenda Williams, I was like, okay, I can do sports.

Not like tennis, but I can do sports. Okay.

Now that fire inside your biopic is out, What does it feel like to finally see this happen, that people are able, well they will be as of Christmas Day, that people are able to really learn about your story?

You know, I have been in a few of the premieres, and to see.

People reactions as we watch the movie together, and to know that the movie is about me, I'm always just shook and I'm so excited for the world to see.

It on Christmas Day.

I believe that it's going to change so many lives, going to change people's perspective of women's sports, women's boxing, of me, and they'll see that it's hard being a woman athlete. But the best of us who stay and continue to push and continue to not quit, continue to just fight the best and can control our brands, that this is what all it takes to get here. And I'm just ready to inspire a whole new generation of people.

The movie is very inspiring.

I got a chance to see it when it premiered in Los Angeles, and I was really I mean, I knew your story, but it's it's it's interesting when you see it all put together.

Yeah, it's like much more powerful.

And I think you had told me previously that, oh it'll make you laugh, it'll make you tear up. It was a couple of times I definitely got emotional. I didn't let that Denzel glow ear dry. But it was a few times.

That I got emotional.

But I saw it as a ninety six percent score already on Rotten Tomato. So you know, how do you think this film or were you at all anxious about how this film might be received.

No, I wasn't anxious about it.

One thing I've known the whole time is that my story is very resilient, you know, in that it's a story that needs to be told that the sports world needs. It's filled with so many different dynamics, and I just feel like I'm a different type of woman, right And I always been that way. And they're like, why is she like that? You know, where did this come from? Is she cocky or is she confident? Is she arrogant?

You know? Is she angry or is she just passionate?

And I hope that when they watch the movie they see that I'm very passionate about boxing. I am not an angry black woman who boxed because I was sexually abused and I want to be the men.

Now, that's not why a box. And it's kind of immatuity.

People have that as the story about me for a very long time, and it's still like, what, I'm breaking all these records? You think, you guys think I'm breaking all these records just because I hate men. It don't have nothing to do with that. It's because I want to be great at something and I want to be remembered after I die. I always knew that my story is going to change so many lives, and I feel like God chose me to be the one to do it. God told me I'll want to go melt the first time.

You have to do.

Yeah, it's been a long time since I said this about a movie, but after at the end of Yours, I was thinking I could have had another thirty minutes of that or another like it could have been like longer in my fire inside. You're right, because it does only it takes you up to your professional, you know, career. And of course in the end notes, you know, we know what happened. Obviously, they update people about where you

Might see their portrayals? Absolutely?

You know, And I'm happy that Ryan caught me and was like, hey, you know, what was the relationship like with your mom?

You know, at this age or at this stage of your life, you know, and.

Everyone is okay, well how they were portrayed because everything was the truth.

Okay.

I was gonna ask you that, like, how, yeah, what percentage of this would you say? I mean, of course it's Hollywood, they're gonna you know, it's gonna be some drama that they were, but like, you know, what percentage of this would you say it was true?

I would say ninety five percent of it with I.

Mean, that's pretty good for her for yeah, for Hollywood, yeah it is, it is.

But I let them know everything in the movie.

I'm like, I want them to see the real stuff, to see like this is what I went through. This is how it was for me growing up, Like this is how it was what I went through. I want them to see it raw in the cut, just like t Rex was.

What are the I mean pretty much the crux of the movie is your relationship with Jason Crutchfield, who was the person who sort of got you into the sport. It was your trainer, mentor all those things. What's your relationship like with Jason?

Now we don't.

Work together as far as in boxing, but every time I see him, it's still just a woman brace. He always tell me he happy for me, he proud me, and we're happy that we got this movie about our lives together. We were connected for life, and you know, we want our first gold medal together, we want our first world title together, and the professionals. And if Jason everyone to try to coach me again, I'll let him, would you, I would?

Look?

The only thing is to just I think I think the disconnect was the personal life of it. You know, even though he was like my dad, he didn't know how to separate the dad and the coach, you know, and he kind of mixed it all up in one, and he made the rules being for both, like, Okay, Dad say you can't date, in Coach say you can't date. So if you don't listen to Dad, you don't listen to coach. And then if coach get mad, he puts

It sounds like you're saying Jason might have been right.

It might have been right, but I did spend a great four or five years with that guy, and we're still friends now.

But I just think I don't know.

If I had a daughter, I will I will tell her, you know, wait till you twenty five.

She will kind of do what you did, which is not a right.

You know, that's just how that's that's how it goes. Was there anybody who didn't like how they were portrayed?

My dad?

My dad didn't like how he was portrayed, and my little brother is not even showcased much in the movie.

But he was like, I think my Charac should put more effort into it. And I'm like, dude, you showed three times three times. Shut up.

And actually, the guy that played my little brother, I think, look a lot like my little brother and talk like him and everything. And I was like, that a great job casting this dude. But yeah, I don't know why he was mad about that. I was like, Peter, you weren't even in the movie, bro like just stop and then my dad is like, oh, me and Jason Because my dad and Jason never really had any friction. They may have had conversations and stuff like that, but never

I never bet with Jason. Never.

Me and Jason always been cool and they have what do you how do you think that people in Flint will we'll look at this because I you know, Flint is sort of like a character and they showed the city some of the things is gone through because you know, it wasn't lost on me, especially when they showed picture of the water plants. So and we know about everything that's happened there with that. But how do you think people in Flint will look at this?

I was at the Flynn premiere over four hundred people as they watched the movie in two different and two different venues, and I can tell you Flint was so excited. They're so happy about this. They're so happy about this. It showed the streets, you know, Ryan Destiny running on the streets Baltimore, North Saginaw, her being at Northwestern High School.

It shows all this stuff, and.

People from Flint are like, oh my god, they probably still live on that street, or they right right down that street. They seen me running down that street. Now to see Ryan Yam, it gets everybody in the city hope, like wow, if she went through all that and still made it the then what's my.

Ryan?

I thought, you know, just in a little that I've been around you, like she really had your mannerisms, like down, how much time did you all spend together?

I think Ryan is great at what she do because.

We FaceTime two or three times, we always text always, you know, kept in touch. But I never was on set, not one time. I was never on set. So Ryan did all of that. You have to give her kudos for that. Even when I seen it. I said, this is but she's an actress and this is her breakout role. And I mean even her boxing was so phenomenal to me now. But I also told her, I said, girl,

But this is boxing. We're gonna get it right. This is not rocky, this this is real and the greatest one of all time. You got to get these boxing right.

I don't know about the acting part, y'all can figure that part out, but the boxing part, y'all need me let me know. And they never had to need me because Rob tell you a great job training rind this.

You know, once people who obviously don't understand the Hollywood process, but like once you give them your life, essentially you're kind of out of the process a little bit. Was it hard for you to kind of turn over creative control and give someone license to near license to shape their shape their life in the way that they saw it. Yeah, you know, yeah, no.

No, no, no, I am very you were very involved, very strict about how I'm portrayed, especially to the world and how that's why I took over my own brand and when people start seeing who I was, because the people I hadn't tricked, my brand had me as some beasts and even my fans were scared of me, and it was like I didn't like that. So with the movie coming out, me and Barry sat and talked. Me and Barry Jenkins sat and talked who wrote who wrote the movie? Me and him talked for four or five hours.

I said, this is my life.

And then I said, let's we got to put our minds together to make this right.

And then he was like, well, how do you feel about this?

How do you feel about He asked his questions and I answered everything truthfully and then he was like, do you want to include that?

Absolutely? I want the truth in the movie.

And before the script even was able they were able to start shooting, he sent me the script and said I'm waiting on you to read it, and when you get back to me and let me know what you think, then then we'll start. So he sent me the script a few things. I was one or two things. I was like, I take it out.

And he respectful of it. He took and he took it out.

And from there, when they started doing the casting, like Rachel will reach out to me all the time, Hey, we're doing the casting.

Thousands of girls showed up.

I even told a girl name who's an actress night a nice feast of Williams.

I said.

I was like, go because I thought she could play me right. And when she said let me know that Ryan Destiny got the part, I said, okay, cool. Met Ryan Destiny over the phone, like we talked and she let me know. I'm like, I'm like, I'm training very hard, but I was. I wasn't involved as much as I needed to be involved, you know. And even before they started showing up the premieres and everything, I seen the movie first.

It was just me, I believe my publicist.

It was here in LA I seen it, and I am one hundred percent for sure, even though that the contract was signed, if I did not like the movie, if I didn't like I was portrayed, I'm one hundred percent sure that everyone would have went back and did things better, differently, fixed whatever. I am one hundred percent sure of that. So I think working with them was

Ain't it which I do this world.

But I literally love how the truth is in there and how I was portrayed, because that's the truth.

There's a lot of success just in the fact of getting a movie made. But do you have in your mind, like what success looks like in terms of how this is received, how many people see it, how much money it makes. It's like, what part of that? How will you judge and determine that about whether or not this movie you consider it to be a success.

It's already a success, you know, just the fact that I have a movie about my life at the age of twenty nine and I gotta fighting too much. I'm still ranked number one woman fighter in the world right now, So that's already a win in itself.

It's the win from Ryan Destiny.

She's getting so many awards, so many nominations.

I believe that the world is going to take to this movie. Now.

Of course you want to see the box office numbers and you want to see all this stuff, of course, but I'm not gonna let that be toured. How great this is for me. I mean, what other boxs have a biopic about their life? I tell you, maham Ali, right, can you think of another one off the top of my head?

George Foreman, George Foreman, you're right, yeah, I did see that movie. Yeah, And I'm trying to think who else? Well, I mean not a feature film. I mean what they did a series on Mike Tyson, right, I think that's probably what I can think of now.

But obviously you're the first.

Woman at the You're the first like this is big.

This is big to me, and it is well deserved.

And to be a believer in Christ and have your movie come out on Christmas Day, I get to share my day with the most powerful man in person in the world.

That it was going to be Christmas or it just no. They had told me August. The day changed so many times.

First it was August, which I was happy about because I was fighting in July. And then they came back and said, oh, it's December, and I'm like, what are you guys doing? And then they're like, oh, it's Christmas Day? And I was like in my mind, and actually I text Rachel I said.

Who the hell go to the movies on Christmas Day?

And she wrote back and said, correct, everybody, A lot of people. But this is how how much I'm out the loop, Like this show how much I just train and work out and you know, travel.

I'm not thinking of those type of things. But I believe the color purple came out Christmas Day. Now that everything is like dawning on me, I'm like, this is really big.

Your fight February second, Danielle Perkins, it hasn't been a challenge. You're promoting this movie, you have so much going on. Has it been a challenge in terms of preparing.

For that, Well, it's just got to announce.

So I've been in the gym the past two months already trained and working out, but it has It is a challenge when you're traveling back and forth and you're going all these different places and then you land where you're where you can train, but your body is like you having jet leg and dehydrated because you have drinking of water, all this stuff, so it it holds its challenges, but I'm happy that you know, this is something of the last bit we gotta do, and I don't let

I gotta over I gotta overwin.

Now it's like, yeah, you can win, but you gotta like really good, you know, especially with all the hate right now, I got to show these folks.

So what uh, you know, looking at the evolution of the competition that you've had to face about your career as a professional, just talking about that part of it, how have you seen the competition evolved? Do you feel like women's boxing is in a stronger place because of you?

Absolutely, women's boxing is a very stronger place because I think that you know, me speaking about equality, me being on these brands, me being main event on Showtime, ESPN, HBO, The Zone, me having talked with these execs, is changing women's boxing.

I have real talks with them.

I'm not a person who's going to come in the room and scream and yell and tell you to do what I say. I come with the facts. Hey, you guys, we got the next fight coming up. Last fight, you guys gave me trouble about how many viewerships we got, even though I got more viewership than everybody else.

You guys said I should have got more viewership.

Well, I believe I could have got more viewership if you guys promoted my fight.

Twelve weeks instead of four weeks.

You guys promote the men fight twelve weeks And then they asked me, how do you know that?

Well have proof, I'll screenshot it.

You guys started promoting Adrian brownin fight this date in his fight date was that date. You started promoting my fight this date, and my fight was four weeks later. So you can't say I'm supposed to get more viewership when I don't get the same amount of promotion.

But that's a conversation you got have for them. It's not that they're.

Sexist, it's just they're doing what they're used to doing. Women don't women just want the money. We want to be paid equal.

That's it. Pay us equal, pay us equal.

And it was just like they're not realizing they're not paying us equal because of this, or they got all these different reasons why, but you just let them know.

You guys are you guys are making this reason. You guys are doing this.

So you have to fix your part and do the same that you do for us for them, and then we can talk about the numbers. Now, if you promote my fight twelve weeks like you do the men, and then I still get half the numbers that they get, then we know, all right, it's not that we got to fix something else.

But that's not it.

Because I've getten more numbers than the men, and we promote my fight six weeks, eight weeks, and I get I get a lot of viewership.

I asked you about the competition just because I know, you know, looking at boxing history, is that every great boxer needed a foe, you know.

Almost Yeah, I've had a few of them, that you've had a few.

But I mean, let's be honest, is that like you have destroyed a lot of your your competition, all of them, which speaks to your individual greatness.

Have you felt like you know that.

You need a a George Foreman or you know, a Joe Fraser, Like have you felt like, hey, I would you have liked to experience having like a real like a rival rival like some of these other boxing legends.

I've had rivals, you know, Hannah Gabriel's being one. The girl knocked me down in the first round. I remember that, right, crazy, even though I won that fight, you natally, I mean, Savetta Marsha will Be and the amateurs.

Me and her had a rough, ruggy fight. I won unanimously, but it was rough and rugged. She was tough.

Christina Herrin being my first girl I ever really had a grudge match with and who I thought we would have plenty more time, but hey, I destroyed her so bad at the first fight. She didn't want to she didn't want to rematch me. None of these girls want to rematch me after I beat them. So those were my George Foreman fights and it so yeah, like I mean, it's to be as skilled and as great as I am. It's like a blessing and a curse at the same time.

If it's too hot in the kitchen, get out. I'm sure.

Obviously, like a lot of people, you watch the Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight, and you know, as it stands now, a lot of people have credited Amanda's soroano and Katie Taylor is having the most watched women's sporting event of all time because it's seventy.

Four million viewers.

You seem to you seem to have to take an issue with that characterization that they're the most watched.

Is that the truth or a life?

That's why I asked, like, well, I was going to ask you.

I'm gonna ask you. Was it a sporting women's event? It was not, so they were on a larger star.

Yep.

As you know, all right, so so so, so just just bear with me. Beginning of your sentence said it was the most watched women's sporting event with seventy four mini right right, And then I asked you was it a sporting women's event?

You said no, it was not, So how does that go hand to hand? It don't.

And that's not a knock to them. It's not a knock. It's a win for women's boxing. But when I was the head of the bill, I was the head. I got four million views two k two million in the UK, two million in the US abroad four million people over four million people watch the fight. We're the head of the bill. That's what you were promoting with. That's what

But you said you considered this to be even though they were a part of a larger event or you know, within one, you consider it to be a win.

Yeah, it's a win. I feel like the girl stole the show. I agree.

I mean with the with the head, but the cut, the punches, the counterpunching, Amanda with those strong hands.

Listen, I watched the fight. I was glued into it. Did you think the outcome was right? Did you think that was the right decision?

I did, Okay, I thought Katie edged it with her skill on her counterpunching when I watched it they're in person. But then when I went home and watched it, I said, this could have been a draw. But those girls are like kryptonite to each other, like their styles just don't mix, Like they just are always gonna give each other trouble.

Indeed in a way, so they haven't. Really, it's gonna be another decision. You thought that was a win for women's boxing.

Did you you think? Yeah?

The Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight was a win for boxing for men.

Asking the question, you know, Listen, I'm glad Mike Tyson did whatever he wanted to do.

Yeah, I'm glad he went in there. I'm glad he fought.

I'm glad I got to see him walk to the ring with my own eyes and see him inside the ring. And boxing was to dream of mind, you know, to just see that. Of course I would love to see him knock Jake Paul out, absolutely, but I.

Know you two have history. Yes, yeah, but it's just like, what.

Did it do for boxing? And didn't do anything? But I'm happy for Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. I just I just didn't it didn't do anything for boxing. I mean, you want to say, all we got viewership, but it's Netflix. Who doesn't have Netflix. It's eight ninety nine a month. Everybody watched Netflix and it didn't charge nobody to watch it, So.

Ingrass to them. Man, it's beautiful.

Oh yeah, there's a larger question to be asked there about the sport. But before I ask you that one, we're gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back with more from the quote the greatest woman of all time back in a moment. A lot of I asked you that about the Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight

Jake Paul is great at marketing, great at building his brand, and that's something that you know, I give him credit for me saying that he came from YouTube and just came to boxing and started making millions off the bat and I gotta work this hard and I got real accomplishments that let me know that I need to build my brand. So I do, you know, give credit to Jake Paul for that. Build my brand on YouTube, build my brand on Instagram, beild my brand on Facebook, everywhere.

Just build my.

Brand because your brand will last you longer once you're done with the sport anyway, And if you don't have a brand, it's like everything you did kind of disappears anyway, because there's always a new up and coming fighter or up and coming champion, you know, and people. So I think that's where he's winning at, you know, and I think everybody keep looking at because boxing is such a real sport. It's a real fight in there, and they're trying to say that his fights aren't real. I mean,

But boxing is such a real sport.

I think that these guys are overlooking that they're overlooking that you have to build your brand outside the ring. It's not just about fighting anymore. We're not in that. We're not in that place an era of where social media don't matter like we are. I grew up in a social media era where it's like you use this up to your benefit. People still kind of oh, we don't really play the internet games, we don't do social media. Oh you know, having viewership and people watching your social

Now, men's boxing, where is it at?

They need to understand that you guys are getting paid millions, but people don't know you.

Guys name that.

They don't know what you do, what you stand for, what your life is about, who you are.

They don't know.

So once you're done boxing and all those ten million, five million, two million payday stop coming in and even spend all your money. That's why you don't see a lot of boxes with endorsements and sponsorships because they don't build the brands. I'm going to be one of the first boxes that you see that have deals and stuff like Sarrenda Williams go, It's going to happen because I'm putting in the work and I'm building my brain.

Is that in a way.

I don't want to say, because you mentioned like you know, hey, this is just kind of what it is, but you're it. Does it sometimes frustrate you that your accomplishments in some circles or in some regards when we talk about marketing and getting the deals and all that isn't enough. You know, like you talked about how you have to market yourself, promote yourself, build your brand, Like that sounds like a lot of work, you know what I mean.

It absolutely is.

And I have a great team who I work with now, you know, PR team, styling team, a hair makeup. I have a great team that I work with now. But I just said that to say, yeah, it's frustrating, but it's also it's the part.

It's a part of it. You know. Serena Williams.

When I look at her, you know, she played with the beads for a long time, she represented for the culture. But then you know, people start saying like, oh, she's she's strong, she's built like a man, and you never really seen her respond. You always just seen her kind of put her time into her work. And when she put her time into her work, that's when you've see that all these endorsements and sponsors and everything like she

And that's what I'm doing right now, is it?

You know, as you have won more and more and more and.

Sitting at the top of the sport.

How do you handle that pressure because people are looking for you to lose. You know, you have some challenger you don't even know right now is at home thinking about like trying to knock you out.

So how do you.

Handle dealing with like you're carrying a sport?

I train that's it when you self made, you know what I'm saying, and you get to where you got to because of you being you, you doing you how you do you, and you know how you got to where you are, no handouts, nobody giving you nothing. It's like I know how stat the top, I know what to do, I know what matters. So it's like people, of course, everybody always want the winners to lose. People love controversy like they love drama. They love a comeback story.

But for me, it's like I just believe in winning. And how do you win? You train, you have discipline, you focus, and you just you just do it. So I don't really hate come with the game.

You know, And I've always known as a young girl, and my coaches tell me all the time women have to work ten times harder than me. He always told me that. So now that I'm a fifteen time world champion. I'm like, yeah, no, I'm gonna start getting some endorsement, sponsorsitions, SOUF.

All right, cool for you?

What motivates you now to keep going?

I mean, you're it's hard to believe your twenty nins, you know, because it feels like you've been on the scene for so long. But what what would you say is your motivation now?

My motivation for me is that I haven't gotten through where I want to get to yet. And it's not I mean, in boxing, I can retire right now. I'm going down the Hall of Fame, you know, but and be regarded as one of the greatest women boxers to ever live. I get that, But it's like I want I still girls, I want to fight.

I got records, I want to break.

I got a vision of myself that's so big, and it's like, that's what motivates me. It's like, I have to get there to feel that satisfaction for me, not nobody else.

For me. I got to get there.

Have you thought about or how much have you thought about how much longer you want to do this?

Because boxing is you.

Know, it's one of those sports that it has a certain shelf life because of the physicality. So how much longer do you or how much thought have you given to how long you want your career to be.

I've been boxing eighteen years now, you know, and I think I'm going to retire when I'm boxing at twenty six, so I have eight more years in boxing. So those who thought they wanted me to go on ahead eight years thirty eight, I'm going to retire.

Really And why did that number? Why?

I don't know, because I think if I don't retire at thirty eight, I'm going to be boxing on fifty. So it's just like, but you know what the also too, I'm saying thirty eight. But if I'm still in great shape and I can whoop these girls at forty and fifty, you would do it?

What?

Why not? But Hopkins did it? You know?

So he was boxing at fifty. I think he was boxing at fifty. So for me, I'm just like, but that's the age, you know. I feel like twenty six years boxing, I think I'll be Okay, I've done enough fighting. I don't have you know what, I'm going to retire when when that bone in me when it like comes to a fight, when like the fire don't light up that's when I retire. And I'm thinking that age to

You're challenging me. You think you can beat me, You want to fight.

Me, and and I don't get that hunger to go train and work and then I'll retire.

But till then, I'm just gonna keep beating these girls up. Dare I say, I guess if the fire inside it's not that the fire inside is not there, then on fire side, yeah, then you're like, I won't box now?

Do you you're the first woman in boxing to get a seven figure pay for a fight. When you think about your legacy, do you think what you have? You know, individually you've been able to accomplish all these things financially in the sport, But do you think the success, the financial success that you've established that women's boxers can have,

I'm a promoter, so I got t Rex promotion, so I actually promote a woman fighter, and I'm giving her audi jewels and stuff that I know so she can.

Get her big paydays too.

It's a blueprint now on how you make a million dollars even if you don't have the gold medals. And that's shown with Katie Hiller and Amni Torano. You know that they made a million and I've made a million, And I'm trying to think, is there any other woman that made a million in box?

I think it's just us for right now. But I am letting them know. It is a blueprint, and I always the biggest blueprint is built your brand. In terms of pay equity.

Another thing that you fought for is when it came to the Olympics. You know, for a female boxer to get paid the same as they do for mailboxes when they're training and everything for the Olympics. And I looked it up and I saw that I think it was in twenty twenty two, Congress actually passed a law that said that American athletes who are representing Team USA in international competitions, you have to pay them the same, regardless of gender. And it feels like that was a fight

You know, I alway wanted to stand for something bigger than myself. And that's why, you know, I told Tim Usa, listen, if you guys don't pay us like you paid the men, I won't even go back to the twenty sixteen Olympics and I'm the reigning Olympic champion, and they're like, okay, you got it. And the women were getting paid the same as the men. You know, I was getting paid five thousand a month actually leading up to the Olympics.

It wasn't three. It's say three in the.

Movie, but it was actually five because I was returning Olympic go milest So I was getting paid more than the men actually, But I think that that's where the fight started at. But I didn't know that things were so unequal like that because all I did was focus on boxing. You know, it wasn't until I had conversation with the men, like how much y'all get paid them on? You know, people don't have this conversations because they say, oh, you know, some people can't talk. They contracts and checks

I asked and Wolf how much was her highest payday in boxing?

Told me fifty K. I said, but you're a real champ, you only fifty fifty K? I asked that Laila alien. This is word the word this is on my grandmother.

You know.

I asked her how much would how much did you get paid for your highest payday? She told me six hundred thousand, and I said, in my mind, I said, okay, so it's possible. In my mind, I said, it's possible for me to make a high of six hundred K.

That's what I thought to myself.

So to be able to make a million, I was like, wow, you know, how did we get here? But that's how I know that when women's boxing had changed. But my first payday in boxing, my first professional fight, I got paid fifty K. That's when I knew. I said, see, times is changing, stuff is changing. And I didn't know how or where. I knew it had a lot to do with me and my Olympic gold medals. But I said,

And it was a fight.

You guys all thought I was gonna lose, and you put me in here with this girl that was twenty one, you know, with ten knockouts and I had seven fights.

Mhm.

Y'all paid me one hundred and fifty for the fight, or I think it was one seventy five. I said, my next fight better be three fifty or I'm not fighting. To my promoter that I told show Time that and they were like, Claris said, nobody, No woman's made that kind of money.

I said, m hmm okay. And I sat at home for about a month and I was like, no phone call Yoka, all right, cool? Cool now.

I always not my promoter car and said, hey Chris, we got it. Since you got what we got you three fifty, okay, what's the day when we're when we're fighting and its been a champions back.

Yeah, You've been able to win in so many different weight classes and h to prefer our interview.

I was reading this one story that I think they called it.

They called your new class the Clarissa Wait, because it's like you established I can fight at whatever whatever I need.

Yeah, however I need to fight out.

Hey, do you have a weight you prefer to fight at?

One sixty eight? One sixty? That's I feel the best at one sixty eight. I feel good at one sixty. I mean I feel deprived at one fifty four. But I went down there and I fought and I beat beat all the girls there.

But sixty and sixty eights where I'm comfortable at.

I mean, seventy five seventy five plus for heavyweight is cool too, But I just I find a way to be comfortable at whatever weight class that I'm at. You know, I do the diet and right, I be strategic. I have a great nutritionist team try out to perfect the athletes. Like so, I think I feel good everywhere, but sixty eight is like naturally where I'm like, Okay, that's where I.

Now that you've gotten a little taste of Hollywood. I mean you see that you know boxers, and I know you've flirted with uh with MMA before. A lot of athletes in your position make that turn into acting, make that turn into doing entertainment.

Is that something that you've considered?

Now you know I've done some acting, Okay, so I don't believe in like, oh, you should wait to retire to do the acting. So I've done some acting now and I actually I actually have a movie role coming up that I have to get ready for. I'm planning a cop in a movie. So yeah, hopefully we you know that that's on a big platform. You guys be able to see it. If you don't sit on the platform, you sit on my page for sure. So I'm playing

One of my favorite stories involving you is and you put this on your Instagram page it's when old girl, Uh, when the woman showed up at the gym. Oh god, like, listen, this this is where I am. If you want to smoke, come up here. And this this was somebody I guess you sort of mentored a little bit right like that. It reached out to you and said, hey, you know what I want to I want to be you. I want to be a fighter for real in this game.

Yeah, yeah, what.

Selfishly seeing how people how slick people talk on social media for those of us, you know, I mean, I ain't got hands like that, but there are so many times that I wish I could put my hands on some of these people who talk slick across social media.

So what't you tell people? Oh girl? You know, Mike Tyson said it best.

Social media has made people like comfortable that they can say whatever they want without getting hitting the mouth for it.

Correct, and they never had their ass whipping and they talked like it and they need it, Yeah, they.

Do, you know.

And I would say with that, I didn't tell her to come to the gym. I didn't invite her to come to the gym. I had my hundred thousand dollar challenge going on, Like if any girl she want to come to the gym.

Yes, I was like, I thought it was part of something.

But she never reached out and said she wanted to do a challenge. I just showed up to the gym to spar against these two grown men, professional fighters, to get ready for my championship fight July twenty seventh that I had.

And she trolled me so much. I got over a million followers.

But she told me so much that it was like I know this girl, like I know this girl face, now, I know her voice now, like he trold.

Me so much. So as I'm walking into the gym to start getting ready to spark against these men, I see her. So she just showed up an announced.

I thought, you like, hey, if you got all that smoke, nah, this is where I'm gonna be.

Ah.

So I'm showing up to do what I do, and that's prepared for my World championship fight. That I have coming up in Detroit at Little Caesars in front nineteen thousand people. I gotta get ready and I walk in the gym and my eyes I looked in the ring because I like to know who around.

I looked in the ring. I said, oh, I know this bitch, and then I said, Clarissa s yeah. All of a sudden, I just I clicked out. I'm not gonna lie. I clicked out. I walked into the ring.

She like, yeah, Chris, I told you when I when I see what was up, I said, what you here?

F why at my gym? Fo? She said?

She said, I'm here to get a couple of rounds spar with you. I said, I'm about to fuck you up.

Well, I told her. I said I'm gonna fuck you up bad. And then she was.

And then I was like, I got, I got, I got you for a run round. She was like, I didn't call off work to come get one round and said that's all. You're gonna last one round for you one. Then she got the argument, we ain't going two rounds. I'm about to leave, da da. I said, you think you about to leave when you disrespect me?

And I tried to run up and here outside the ring. I was so mad.

Then all of a sudden, my ex fiance grabbing me, my homegirl bedy grabbing me, my best friend nanny grabbed me. I'm like, y'all need to don't nobody touch me.

I'm I'm, I'm I don't I done.

Click thout because it's something about I don't disrespect nobody. I don't do that. Like I'm personally. If I dispect you, I want you to dispect me back, like I won't smoke if like, if I walk up to you, I'm talking in trash. I expect you to talk trash back, and if you want to get active, we get acted.

That's what I expect. That's why I don't do that. I don't do that.

But it was like the fact that she tried to make it seem like somebody scared of her. She did shed add and what I'm listen, I don't duck, no smoke, zero like I'm changing my brand of course, all that good stuff, but do not play with me.

I'm not one of them. Man. She got dressed. We went in the ring.

I said, enough talking to you, because she got the cursing and your boyfriend this and your boyfriend that and I'm make you my beat.

D da da. She was talking crazy. I said, okay, that's how I am. I don't like all this shut up. I want to fight. I don't put my hands on you. That's me. That's why with the social media, i'd be like kind of baked girls in like do you want to fight? Or now you want to scrap? Like what's up?

So I don't do that. Do all that talking because everybody can do it. Everybody can do the talking, but can you really back up what you say? I'm a backer upper. So she she got dressed, we got in the ring, We had a we had a red fern there.

Said like I said, it's got anybody watching right now, go see the video because it's on my YouTube, on your YouTube, and I can tell when you hit that girl.

The first time, I was like, oh no, this is going bad.

All trying to knock her out. And then the thing is, I got so much class when it like when it comes to boxing that when she start covering up, I stop hitting her. I stopped hearing her. I said, man, I've been ana kute this, I've been I've been Jills. And then she oh her own her stomach, hold her head.

I was like, look at it, stup bit. But you know what, sometime jamill just hear me out. Just him. Sometimes you got to make an example a lot of people.

You are preaching to the choir, that let all the girls who was considering trying to get the honey k or who was considering trying to come to the gym to respect me, that let them know, oh she not she professional, but.

She she's from the streets. She gonna kick our ass. We come down here.

Did anybody did anybody take you up on any k?

Come on? Now? I think the first one I have to be the girl came off to the gym.

Now you gotta that one hundred K. Was like, if they can beat you, if they can beat me, you god, oh my god, it ain't just show up. Yeah, because if that's the case, everybody, I was like, right now, I'll let you fire on me, right I was after that Timmy Hers episode. But I'll let you fire on me right now. For as you just said, as we wrap up here. So, uh, I ask every guest that appears on politics here, uh what I call the messy question.

Dust the smoke.

You get paid to fight.

So given the recent events, I am wondering, what would it take? How much money would it take for you to jump in the ring with bring me my.

Just what it out? I mean, at this point the girl leaked my number, she leads your number, Oh my god, what your actual telephone number? Yeah? Oh my god.

So at this point you can give me a dollar and I'll put my hands a dollar.

That's it. Don't have nothing to do with whatever else.

It's just that part alone, that that part of that part theories where it's like, I'm a businesswoman, don't leak my number?

Why would you do that?

You know you should have came to me like Shirley, Hello Barber.

Charlotte, and you're too young to know about.

I guess I got an own soul or whatever. But it's about hello Barber. This is surely for real. But it's more of the more thing like but she's not no boxer. You know what I'm saying. If you know she hain't no boxer, So I don't want to have to put my hands on it do you?

I have to say, like I I was so surprised when I saw you trending.

I'm thinking, like, did she be somebody else?

Like I was like, oh my, were you surprised at everything that happened? Like all of a sudden, you're trending people trying to put your personal life out there. You know, how did you basically handle it? I mean I saw some of the comments that you made on social media, but like I mean, for you, that had to be a bit surprising because you're out there in the public.

But you know, this is a much different way. Well one I have decided that moving forward that I would like my dat in life to be private.

You know what I'm saying. And there's plenty of reasons why I don't really care about outside perception of of myself.

I just I don't know.

I say, I wasn't surprised when I when I seen it, I said, oh my god. But it's one of those things where it's like, don't people have to spend there? It is and it's like we all know that this woman had a boyfriend. We all know that, and this situation is so weird because it's like we falls on the phone all the time, so just like to see this. It's just like okay, but I don't know, I don't know. I thought it was I thought it was weird and

I wasn't. I'm not in that beef.

You know, only my my smoke with her is is posting my number. It don't got nothing to do with I don't got nothing to do with him. It was her posting my number. So people like, oh, she wants to fight, fight her over a dude, whatever, stop it, stop it. That is so beneath me. It is the direspect of the leak in my number part and that's it. Other than that, I don't got nothing else to do with. None of the other stuff.

Well, the timing of it, I mean a lot of people are going to see your movie anyway, the.

Fires Christmas Day, the Fire Inside comes out in theaters.

Now there's some other there might be another curious contingent that comes to see to try to figure out, like, oh, I wonder what.

Her backstory is.

But for all those who are watching it, watching it, listening like the movie really is good. I'm not just blowing smoke up in your ass like it's a good movie.

It is a great movie.

One more segment to go, and you guys know what that means. I got questions to answer up next, your viewer slash listener questions, and I have plenty of answers coming up next on the final segment of Spotatives. And before I close out this episode of Politics, time for this week's audience question, which comes from Frank Simmons out of Cypress, Texas. Frank asked, have you followed this gymnastics

Thank you for your question.

Now, if any of you listening would like to ask me a question, you can email me your question or send me a video with your question. But if you send me a video, make sure it's thirty seconds or less. Send your questions to Spolitics twenty twenty four at gmail dot com. That's Politics twenty twenty four at gmail dot com. That's spo li ti cs. Also, make sure you follow spolitics pod on Instagram and TikTok, and you can also watch the entire video episodes of these podcasts on my