Ep 09: The Politics of Fighting - Featuring Claressa Shields

On this week's "The Filibuster,” Jemele shares her thoughts on Caitlin Clark winning TIME's Athlete of the Year 2024. Then, Olympic gold medalist and world champion boxer Claressa Shields joins Jemele to discuss her biopic “The Fire Inside,” what she thought of actor Ryan Destiny's portrayal of her, which people in her life didn’t particularly like their portrayals, and why it was important to showcase her hometown of Flint, Michigan. Shields also reflects on fighting for pay equity. Plus, Jemele asks Shields about her recent online conflict with rapper Remy Ma.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, what's up, everybody.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
I'm Jammelle Hill and welcome to Politics and iHeart podcast
and Unbothered Network production.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Time to get spolitical.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Last week, Time magazine revealed its Athlete of the Year, and.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
The choice was Caitlyn Clark. Now, I thought the honor
was well deserved.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
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
women's all time scoring leader. A couple months later, her
Iowa team met undefeated South Carolina in the National Championship
and while South Carolina won the title, that game averaged

(00:50):
eighteen point four million viewers, and for the first time
in history, the women's national championship game had more viewers
than the men. Game also averaged more viewers than any
of the NBA Finals games between the Boston Celtics and.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
Dallas Mavericks and the WNBA.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
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.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Was this season.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
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.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
Ever since Angel Reese did.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
This, and Angel Reese knows a ring is coming.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
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.
Caitlin Clark was certainly a popular player before that National Championship,
for her popularity exploded among a certain group, and let's
just say it was a group of folks that could
not stand the site of a black woman talking trash

(02:21):
in this manner to a heralded white player, even though
that same white player had done the same gesture in
a basketball game before.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
Now, as Clark's popularity continued to explode.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
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

(02:54):
nearly as hateful and unaware as they wanted her to be.
In the Time magazine piece, Clark made made it clear
that she found the racist, misogynistic attacks and homophobic narratives
to be upsetting and gross.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Those were her exact words. But here's the.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
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

(03:31):
brands and companies invest in those players that have made
this league incredible. I think it's very important. I have
to continue to try to change that. The more we
can elevate black women, that's going to be a beautiful thing.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
Oh they was mad, heeded. How does fish grease that?

Speaker 2 (03:48):
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

(04:09):
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
the ones you want to celebrate. Condescending, fake, transparent sad well.
I guess it could be worse.

Speaker 4 (04:27):
Kitlyn Clark could have said she supports black Santa's.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
Santa Claus should not be a white man anymore.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yet another person claiming it's racist to have a white Santa.

Speaker 4 (04:37):
You know, and by the way, for all your kids
watching at home, Sanna.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Just is white.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
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.

(05:01):
Gains tweeted, no one was asking for Kaitlin Clark to
position herself as.

Speaker 4 (05:06):
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.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
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

(05:43):
asking her for a cut. At this point, I knew
this moment would unfortunately come for Kaitlyn Clark, who was
probably the most unintentionally controversial athlete in professional sports right now.
The moment these fake fans of hers got any indication
she didn't support the same clownish shit that they did,
they were going to come for her. You saw that
when she liked Taylor Swift's social media posts where she

(06:03):
endorsed vice president Kamala Harris. What's hilarious is watching these
people twist themselves into notts because in this time profile,
Clark debunked a lot of the false narratives that they pushed. No,
she didn't think she was targeted by WNBA players. In fact,
if anything, Clark said, she realizes that most of the
college competition she faced was substandard and it took her

(06:26):
some time to adjust to the WNBA. Clark said, professional
players and professional coaches, This is no disrespect to college
women's basketball are a lot smarter. I love women's college basketball,
but if you go back and watch the way people
guarded me in college, it's almost like concerning. They didn't
double me, they didn't trap me, they weren't physical, and

(06:47):
it's hard, it's college. A lot of those women will
never go on to play another basketball game in their life.
They don't have the IQ of understanding how the game works.
So I completely understand it, and it's no disrespect at all.
They don't have the IQ. You have to simplify it
for girls at that age, which was basically the same

(07:07):
shit Diana Tarassi said, and y'all came to herd with pitchforks. Now,
I personally never thought that Caitlyn Clark was required to
speak about anything other than just basketball. She's just twenty
two years old and still coming into her own personally
and professionally. If she never mentioned race, privilege, or gender

(07:28):
in this article, I certainly wouldn't have thought less of her.
But the players in the w especially the black women,
will appreciate that she used her position and her platform
to speak up for them. And despite what her defecting
fans have said, Katelyn Clark didn't do that because she
felt any pressure or because she's been brainwashed by the

(07:48):
WoT mob.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
This is a woman who comes off.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
As very sure of herself and is certain about what
she stands for.

Speaker 5 (07:56):
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
the growth of this thing. And even today, earlier today
Meg and Kelly, she was saying that you were apologizing

(08:17):
for your white privilege and the fact that you wanted
to uplift black female athletes and make sure that they
were getting the shine kind of like your pioneers were
getting the shine that they deserve.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
And I just want to know how you feel or
how you.

Speaker 5 (08:28):
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.

Speaker 6 (08:38):
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
the course of my career. But also I grew up
a fan of this league from a very young age,
Like My favorite player was Maya More, Like I know
what this league was about, and like I said, like,

(08:58):
it's only been around twenty five plus years, so I
know there's been so many amazing black women that have
been in this league. And continuing to uplift them, I
think is very important and that's something I'm very aware of.
And like I said, like I try to just be
real and authentic and share my truth. And I think
that's very easy for me. Like I'm very comfortable in
my own skin, and that's kind of ben how it

(09:19):
is my entire life.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
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

(09:43):
weight classes. She's the first woman in history to earn
a seven figure person in a boxing match. Her story
is so incredibly inspiring, and it's so inspiring that it's
coming to us in movie form in theaters on Christmas Day.
Coming up next on Spolitics, the quote the greatest woman
of all time, Floressa Shields.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
Claris.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
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.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
In this podcast studio.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
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

(10:41):
the moment that made you love sports?

Speaker 7 (10:51):
Honest Lee, I have to say, like, my love for
sports started with seeing Serena Williams play tennis.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
This is before I was boxing.

Speaker 7 (11:00):
You know, my grandma was a big uh Venus and
Serena Williams fan, and.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
We watched Dwight.

Speaker 7 (11:07):
Howard growing up when he was a magic man and
all that stuff or was it magic mean a miracle?

Speaker 1 (11:11):
I think it's magic man.

Speaker 7 (11:13):
And I have to say my grandma always was like,
we watched Surrenda Williams player all the time.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
So before I even chose boxing, I knew about tennis.

Speaker 4 (11:23):
Did you ever think about playing tennis because you saw her?

Speaker 1 (11:28):
No? But I wanted to do sports though.

Speaker 7 (11:30):
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.

(11:51):
I've even strained. I even spranged my wrists one time
because one of the guys tackled me.

Speaker 2 (11:56):
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.

Speaker 1 (12:04):
Not like tennis, but I can do sports. Okay.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
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?

Speaker 1 (12:20):
You know, I have been in a few of the premieres,
and to see.

Speaker 7 (12:22):
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.

Speaker 1 (12:31):
It on Christmas Day.

Speaker 7 (12:32):
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

(12:54):
this is what all it takes to get here. And
I'm just ready to inspire a whole new generation of people.

Speaker 1 (13:00):
The movie is very inspiring.

Speaker 2 (13:01):
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.

Speaker 4 (13:13):
Yeah, it's like much more powerful.

Speaker 2 (13:15):
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.

Speaker 1 (13:25):
That I got emotional.

Speaker 2 (13:27):
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.

Speaker 1 (13:39):
No, I wasn't anxious about it.

Speaker 7 (13:42):
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?

(14:04):
Is she cocky or is she confident? Is she arrogant?

Speaker 1 (14:09):
You know? Is she angry or is she just passionate?

Speaker 7 (14:12):
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.

Speaker 1 (14:21):
Now, that's not why a box. And it's kind of immatuity.

Speaker 7 (14:25):
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.

(14:47):
God told me I'll want to go melt the first time.
He told me I want to go melt a second time.
And even though I had no idea what the professional
ranks for the women held, you let me know you're
going to be the one to change women's boxing.

Speaker 1 (14:59):
You have to do.

Speaker 2 (15:01):
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.

(15:22):
And of course in the end notes, you know, we
know what happened. Obviously, they update people about where you
are and they show actual footage of you. Were you
concerned at all about how people close to you.

Speaker 1 (15:37):
Might see their portrayals? Absolutely?

Speaker 7 (15:40):
You know, And I'm happy that Ryan caught me and
was like, hey, you know, what was the relationship like
with your mom?

Speaker 1 (15:48):
You know, at this age or at this stage of
your life, you know, and.

Speaker 7 (15:53):
Everyone is okay, well how they were portrayed because everything
was the truth.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (15:58):
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?

Speaker 1 (16:10):
I would say ninety five percent of it with I.

Speaker 2 (16:14):
Mean, that's pretty good for her for yeah, for Hollywood,
yeah it is, it is.

Speaker 1 (16:19):
But I let them know everything in the movie.

Speaker 7 (16:23):
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.

Speaker 2 (16:36):
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?

Speaker 1 (16:51):
Now we don't.

Speaker 7 (16:52):
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,

(17:15):
would you, I would?

Speaker 1 (17:15):
Look?

Speaker 7 (17:16):
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

(17:38):
you out the gym. And you know, it's just all
this stuff that was going on, and I just remember,
like dang, you know, not that I should have listened,
but it was just like I was grown at the time,
you know, and I had already accomplished getting a gold medals,
so having a boyfriend wasn't a big deal to me.
But if I knew what I know now, I would
definitely go back in time, and I just I would

(18:00):
have never, ever, ever, ever had a boyfriend.

Speaker 4 (18:03):
It sounds like you're saying Jason might have been right.

Speaker 7 (18:06):
It might have been right, but I did spend a
great four or five years with that guy, and we're
still friends now.

Speaker 1 (18:13):
But I just think I don't know.

Speaker 7 (18:16):
If I had a daughter, I will I will tell her,
you know, wait till you twenty five.

Speaker 4 (18:20):
She will kind of do what you did, which is
not a right.

Speaker 2 (18:24):
You know, that's just how that's that's how it goes.
Was there anybody who didn't like how they were portrayed?

Speaker 1 (18:32):
My dad?

Speaker 7 (18:33):
My dad didn't like how he was portrayed, and my
little brother is not even showcased much in the movie.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
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.

Speaker 7 (18:50):
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

(19:13):
may have had conversations and stuff like that, but never
any friction. But I feel like, you know, Hollywood had
to kind of spend it a little bit and so
the conversation that they had, they just probably made it
to where it looked like that. But my dad did
pull up to wherever he's at loud music all the time.
My dad nickname is Bobo, but he is like hardbody.

(19:39):
He's a hardbody and he's old school. And my dad
is one of my biggest protectors, you know. But he
didn't like that in the movie and show him and
Jason beef and he like it.

Speaker 1 (19:50):
I never bet with Jason. Never.

Speaker 2 (19:51):
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

(20:12):
that's happened there with that. But how do you think
people in Flint will look at this?

Speaker 7 (20:15):
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.

Speaker 1 (20:38):
It shows all this stuff, and.

Speaker 7 (20:40):
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.

Speaker 1 (20:56):
Ryan?

Speaker 2 (20:58):
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?

Speaker 1 (21:07):
I think Ryan is great at what she do because.

Speaker 7 (21:11):
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

(21:32):
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,
don't you mess up on that part. And I even
told I told Rachel, Hey, if you guys need me
to come in be the stunt man, let me know.

Speaker 1 (21:52):
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.

Speaker 7 (22:03):
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.

Speaker 2 (22:13):
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,

(22:36):
you know, yeah, no.

Speaker 7 (22:41):
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

(23:01):
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.
When I met him, I asked him what was his
perception of what my story was and he told me
and I said, well, okay, I got you, and I said,
it's a few things that you missed out.

Speaker 1 (23:19):
I said, this is my life.

Speaker 7 (23:20):
And then I said, let's we got to put our
minds together to make this right.

Speaker 1 (23:23):
And then he was like, well, how do you feel
about this?

Speaker 7 (23:25):
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?

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Absolutely? I want the truth in the movie.

Speaker 7 (23:35):
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.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
And he respectful of it. He took and he took
it out.

Speaker 7 (24:00):
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.

Speaker 1 (24:06):
Thousands of girls showed up.

Speaker 7 (24:09):
I even told a girl name who's an actress night
a nice feast of Williams.

Speaker 1 (24:14):
I said.

Speaker 7 (24:14):
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

(24:37):
started showing up the premieres and everything, I seen the
movie first.

Speaker 1 (24:43):
It was just me, I believe my publicist.

Speaker 7 (24:45):
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

(25:06):
very simple and easy. And they also knew that if
I didn't like it, I'll be outspoken about it, you know,
but not in a bad way, but just you would
have told them, yeah, yeah, like this.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
Ain't it which I do this world.

Speaker 7 (25:19):
But I literally love how the truth is in there
and how I was portrayed, because that's the truth.

Speaker 2 (25:27):
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.

Speaker 7 (25:49):
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.

Speaker 1 (26:02):
It's the win from Ryan Destiny.

Speaker 7 (26:03):
She's getting so many awards, so many nominations.

Speaker 1 (26:08):
I believe that the world is going to take to
this movie. Now.

Speaker 7 (26:11):
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?

Speaker 2 (26:28):
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.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
But obviously you're the first.

Speaker 4 (26:43):
Woman at the You're the first like this is big.

Speaker 1 (26:47):
This is big to me, and it is well deserved.

Speaker 7 (26:49):
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.

Speaker 1 (26:58):
That it was going to be Christmas or it just no.
They had told me August. The day changed so many times.

Speaker 7 (27:04):
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.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
Who the hell go to the movies on Christmas Day?

Speaker 7 (27:21):
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.

Speaker 1 (27:33):
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.

Speaker 2 (27:48):
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.

Speaker 1 (27:59):
For that, Well, it's just got to announce.

Speaker 7 (28:01):
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,

(28:23):
but I'm happy that you know, this is something of
the last bit we gotta do, and I don't let
them know, like, look, your girl needs eight weeks to train,
because who wants to have a movie come out of
our life and then lose after kind of embarrassing that
probably wouldn't be It's not even just lose, it's more
just like I have I have, I'm gonna have millions
of more new followers and fans.

Speaker 1 (28:44):
I gotta over I gotta overwin.

Speaker 7 (28:46):
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.

Speaker 2 (28:54):
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?

Speaker 7 (29:11):
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.

Speaker 1 (29:30):
I have real talks with them.

Speaker 7 (29:31):
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.

Speaker 1 (29:47):
You guys said I should have got more viewership.

Speaker 7 (29:49):
Well, I believe I could have got more viewership if
you guys promoted my fight.

Speaker 1 (29:52):
Twelve weeks instead of four weeks.

Speaker 7 (29:54):
You guys promote the men fight twelve weeks And then
they asked me, how do you know that?

Speaker 1 (29:58):
Well have proof, I'll screenshot it.

Speaker 7 (30:02):
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.

Speaker 1 (30:16):
But that's a conversation you got have for them. It's
not that they're.

Speaker 7 (30:18):
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.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
That's it. Pay us equal, pay us equal.

Speaker 7 (30:28):
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.

Speaker 1 (30:38):
You guys are you guys are making this reason. You
guys are doing this.

Speaker 7 (30:42):
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.

Speaker 1 (31:01):
But that's not it.

Speaker 7 (31:03):
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.

Speaker 2 (31:11):
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.

Speaker 1 (31:20):
Almost Yeah, I've had a few of them, that you've
had a few.

Speaker 2 (31:22):
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.

Speaker 1 (31:33):
Have you felt like you know that.

Speaker 2 (31:35):
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.

Speaker 7 (31:50):
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.

Speaker 1 (32:03):
Me and her had a rough, ruggy fight. I won unanimously,
but it was rough and rugged. She was tough.

Speaker 7 (32:11):
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,

(32:31):
it's to be as skilled and as great as I am.
It's like a blessing and a curse at the same time.
But I take it for more of a blessing because listen,
if a girl can get in the ring with me
and she can't stand total toe with me ten rounds straight,
go to war with me, have good defense, offense, not
back down, and I would give her props. I'll give

(32:55):
her props, but I'm never gonna make a fight like
that on purpose. She got to come in there with
the smoke, and if she ain't got the smoke, it's
not my job to go on there and take easy
on her.

Speaker 1 (33:08):
If it's too hot in the kitchen, get out. I'm sure.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
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.

Speaker 1 (33:25):
Four million viewers.

Speaker 2 (33:26):
You seem to you seem to have to take an
issue with that characterization that they're the most watched.

Speaker 1 (33:34):
Is that the truth or a life?

Speaker 4 (33:36):
That's why I asked, like, well, I was going to
ask you.

Speaker 7 (33:38):
I'm gonna ask you. Was it a sporting women's event?
It was not, so they were on a larger star.

Speaker 1 (33:47):
Yep.

Speaker 7 (33:48):
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?

Speaker 1 (34:03):
You said no, it was not, So how does that
go hand to hand? It don't.

Speaker 7 (34:10):
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

(34:32):
the bill. That's what you were promoting with. That's what
you're going with. That's not the same here now. And
did fifty many people tune in to gather around and
make sure that they were in their seats and ready
to watch when Mike Tyson came out? Because who doesn't
want to see Mike Tyson fight? Absolutely, But that doesn't

(34:53):
mean that the girls are not worth the views. I'm
not saying that. I'm saying had they been the top
of the bill without Jake Parler, Mike, without Jake Paula
Mike typing where they have got that viewership and there
in their first fight they got one million point five
And that's the issue I had with old Cameron. He

(35:16):
says he's reading off QR cars and I don't know
much about boxing women's boxing, but you get on a QO,
you're reading a car. Oh a man of Sano and
K Taylor has the most watched women's boxing event in
history with one point five million, And it's an article
that shows you that I had two million viewers who
watched the fight alone in just the UK. So that's

(35:40):
my thing. It's not to take a knock from them.
It just they do things trying to make it seem
like what I did. They they're trying to make make
records that you guys are not breaking a record if
you're not doing it the same way, it's not the
same thing. They do have the most women's watched boxing
mat in history as the co main event. I have

(36:04):
the most watched women's boxing match as a standalone women's box.

Speaker 2 (36:09):
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.

Speaker 1 (36:16):
Yeah, it's a win. I feel like the girl stole
the show. I agree.

Speaker 7 (36:21):
I mean with the with the head, but the cut,
the punches, the counterpunching, Amanda with those strong hands.

Speaker 2 (36:28):
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?

Speaker 7 (36:34):
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.

Speaker 2 (36:54):
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.

Speaker 1 (36:59):
Did you you think? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (37:01):
The Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight was a win for
boxing for men.

Speaker 7 (37:08):
Asking the question, you know, Listen, I'm glad Mike Tyson
did whatever he wanted to do.

Speaker 1 (37:14):
Yeah, I'm glad he went in there. I'm glad he fought.

Speaker 7 (37:16):
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.

Speaker 4 (37:28):
Know you two have history. Yes, yeah, but it's just like, what.

Speaker 7 (37:31):
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.

Speaker 1 (37:54):
Ingrass to them. Man, it's beautiful.

Speaker 2 (37:57):
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

(38:23):
asked you that about the Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight
because there's mixed opinions along boxing fans. Some people think
that it's great for the sport they look at the viewership,
but a lot of boxing purists, they are a little
disheartened that this is the kind of fight that has
now become considered a premier fight. So do you still

(38:46):
think that boxing men's boxing? Would you consider it in
a healthy place if this is the kind of fight
that becomes considered a marquee event.

Speaker 7 (38:57):
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

(39:17):
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.

Speaker 1 (39:27):
Just build my.

Speaker 7 (39:27):
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

(39:48):
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,
Jake Paul has a loss on his record. He lost
Tommy Fiery, So he had a real boxing match. That's
the real, the real one I thought that he had
and he lost. But you don't hear him talking about that.

(40:08):
They just try to, Oh, we thought he won't but
but he lost and he's trying to become a better boxer.

Speaker 1 (40:14):
But boxing is such a real sport.

Speaker 7 (40:17):
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

(40:38):
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
media followers don't mean nothing. And I'm sorry to tell you,
but it does mean something. How you looked at on
social media, who follows you, how many followers you got,
it matters, sadly, no matter how great you are mad,

(41:01):
So that's what is winning for him.

Speaker 1 (41:05):
Now, men's boxing, where is it at?

Speaker 7 (41:07):
They need to understand that you guys are getting paid millions,
but people don't know you.

Speaker 1 (41:12):
Guys name that.

Speaker 7 (41:15):
They don't know what you do, what you stand for,
what your life is about, who you are.

Speaker 1 (41:20):
They don't know.

Speaker 7 (41:22):
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

(41:43):
putting in the work and I'm building my brain.

Speaker 1 (41:46):
Is that in a way.

Speaker 2 (41:49):
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

(42:11):
lot of work, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (42:13):
It absolutely is.

Speaker 7 (42:14):
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.

Speaker 1 (42:30):
It's a part of it. You know. Serena Williams.

Speaker 7 (42:33):
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

(42:55):
put her time into her work, that's when you've see
that all these endorsements and sponsors and everything like she
didn't pay that stuff no mind. I think the more
you focus on yourself and your career and what you
want to do and you keep the outside of the
noise out, that's when you start to really elevate.

Speaker 1 (43:09):
And that's what I'm doing right now, is it?

Speaker 4 (43:12):
You know, as you have won more and more and
more and.

Speaker 1 (43:14):
Sitting at the top of the sport.

Speaker 2 (43:17):
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.

Speaker 1 (43:26):
So how do you.

Speaker 4 (43:26):
Handle dealing with like you're carrying a sport?

Speaker 7 (43:31):
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,

(43:51):
of course, everybody always want the winners to lose. People
love controversy like they love drama. They love a comeback story.

Speaker 1 (43:58):
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.

Speaker 7 (44:12):
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.

Speaker 1 (44:25):
All right, cool for you?

Speaker 4 (44:30):
What motivates you now to keep going?

Speaker 2 (44:31):
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?

Speaker 7 (44:43):
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.

Speaker 1 (45:03):
I got records, I want to break.

Speaker 7 (45:04):
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.

Speaker 1 (45:16):
For me. I got to get there.

Speaker 2 (45:17):
Have you thought about or how much have you thought
about how much longer you want to do this?

Speaker 1 (45:21):
Because boxing is you.

Speaker 2 (45:22):
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.

Speaker 7 (45:34):
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.

Speaker 1 (45:49):
Really And why did that number? Why?

Speaker 7 (45:53):
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?

Speaker 5 (46:09):
What?

Speaker 1 (46:10):
Why not? But Hopkins did it? You know?

Speaker 7 (46:13):
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

(46:33):
to a fight, when like the fire don't light up
that's when I retire. And I'm thinking that age to
be thirty eight. It's not gonna be before then. But
it's like, if somebody challenges me, and I don't get like, oh.

Speaker 1 (46:46):
You're challenging me. You think you can beat me, You
want to fight.

Speaker 7 (46:48):
Me, and and I don't get that hunger to go
train and work and then I'll retire.

Speaker 1 (46:53):
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?

Speaker 2 (47:08):
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,

(47:30):
you think that's sustainable? Like, do you think that if
there's another woman that comes along who you know is
able to accomplish some of the same things that you did,
that she's going to get a payday that is as
big or bigger than yours. You know what I mean
that you've laid the foundation. Yes, I am creating a
full blueprint.

Speaker 7 (47:47):
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.

Speaker 1 (47:54):
Get her big paydays too.

Speaker 7 (47:56):
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?

Speaker 1 (48:11):
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.

Speaker 2 (48:23):
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

(48:49):
international competitions, you have to pay them the same, regardless
of gender. And it feels like that was a fight
that you fought and you won. So when you think
about out the legacy that you have left as someone
who fought those kind of battles, you know, how does
that make you feel about your purpose?

Speaker 7 (49:09):
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.

Speaker 1 (49:31):
It wasn't three. It's say three in the.

Speaker 7 (49:32):
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?

(49:53):
You know, people don't have this conversations because they say, oh,
you know, some people can't talk. They contracts and checks
or whatever the case may be. But I was just like,
you know, I was curious how much how much I
make a month? And they'd tell me. I'm like, really, hum,
that's interesting. And I mean, I just didn't grow up
around that type of stuff. Like when I was at

(50:14):
the gym with all the guys. Coach didn't make me
run less, I didn't punch the bag less, I didn't
spar less, I did everything like the guy. So I
didn't think that these differences between men and women even
existed until I got a little older. I'm like, oh,
this is what these girls were talking about. Oh okay,
So now that I know about it, I joined the

(50:36):
fight for it now. When I turned pro my first
you know, I reached out to uh, Laila Ali and
a Wolf and.

Speaker 1 (50:44):
I asked and Wolf how much was her highest payday
in boxing?

Speaker 7 (50:48):
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.

Speaker 1 (50:57):
You know.

Speaker 7 (50:58):
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.

Speaker 1 (51:12):
That's what I thought to myself.

Speaker 7 (51:14):
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

(51:35):
how or where. I knew it had a lot to
do with me and my Olympic gold medals. But I said,
I got to keep building off of this. So every
time when I thought, I let him know, hey, I
got to go up twenty five thousand, fifty thousand on
a K. When I became undisputed, I told them to
double my check and they were like, oh, Curris, no
woman's ever made three hundred and fifty k in boxing.
When I said, you won't be seeing me in the

(51:56):
ring unless you pay me it. I'm undisputed now.

Speaker 1 (51:59):
And it was a fight.

Speaker 7 (52:00):
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.

Speaker 1 (52:06):
Mhm.

Speaker 7 (52:08):
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.

Speaker 1 (52:21):
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.

Speaker 7 (52:29):
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.

Speaker 2 (52:40):
Yeah, You've been able to win in so many different
weight classes and h to prefer our interview.

Speaker 4 (52:46):
I was reading this one story that I think they
called it.

Speaker 2 (52:48):
They called your new class the Clarissa Wait, because it's
like you established I can fight at whatever whatever I need.

Speaker 1 (52:55):
Yeah, however I need to fight out.

Speaker 4 (52:56):
Hey, do you have a weight you prefer to fight at?

Speaker 7 (53:00):
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.

Speaker 1 (53:14):
But sixty and sixty eights where I'm comfortable at.

Speaker 7 (53:16):
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

(53:39):
eight is like naturally where I'm like, Okay, that's where I.

Speaker 2 (53:43):
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.

Speaker 1 (54:00):
Is that something that you've considered?

Speaker 7 (54:02):
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,

(54:23):
you sit on my page for sure. So I'm playing
a cop. Okay, it's other movie opportunities, but right now,
I just I've been so busy promoting a movie and
now I just start promoting my next fight, and that's
what I've been focused on. But I am I do
want to be an actress. That's what I want to do,
and I'm not gonna wait to after I'm done boxing

(54:44):
to do it. I feel like I can still do
some stuff now. And I want to be more motivational speaker.
I want to model. You know, it's so many things
that I want to do that I feel like I
can do. I just have to find a time to
do it. But I definitely believe that.

Speaker 2 (55:03):
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

(55:27):
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.
And you, you know, offered to be mentor them. But
then things were left and somehow they thought that they
could talk slick to you, and you let her know
what she could show up, and when she showed up,

(55:48):
I'm thinking she didn't realize that was probably the wrong decision.

Speaker 1 (55:53):
Yeah, yeah, what.

Speaker 2 (55:57):
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.

Speaker 1 (56:13):
So what't you tell people? Oh girl? You know, Mike
Tyson said it best.

Speaker 7 (56:20):
Social media has made people like comfortable that they can
say whatever they want without getting hitting the mouth for it.

Speaker 2 (56:25):
Correct, and they never had their ass whipping and they
talked like it and they need it, Yeah, they.

Speaker 1 (56:30):
Do, you know.

Speaker 7 (56:31):
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.

Speaker 4 (56:43):
Yes, I was like, I thought it was part of something.

Speaker 7 (56:45):
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.

Speaker 1 (56:57):
And she trolled me so much. I got over a
million followers.

Speaker 7 (57:02):
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.

Speaker 1 (57:09):
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.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
I thought, you like, hey, if you got all that smoke, nah,
this is where I'm gonna be.

Speaker 1 (57:24):
Ah.

Speaker 7 (57:25):
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.

Speaker 1 (57:41):
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.

Speaker 7 (57:57):
She like, yeah, Chris, I told you when I when
I see what was up, I said, what you here?

Speaker 1 (58:02):
F why at my gym? Fo? She said?

Speaker 7 (58:07):
She said, I'm here to get a couple of rounds
spar with you. I said, I'm about to fuck you up.

Speaker 1 (58:13):
Well, I told her. I said I'm gonna fuck you
up bad. And then she was.

Speaker 7 (58:17):
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?

Speaker 1 (58:32):
And I tried to run up and here outside the ring.
I was so mad.

Speaker 7 (58:35):
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.

Speaker 1 (58:44):
I'm I'm, I'm I don't I done.

Speaker 7 (58:46):
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.

Speaker 1 (59:03):
That's what I expect. That's why I don't do that.
I don't do that.

Speaker 7 (59:05):
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.

Speaker 1 (59:24):
I'm not one of them. Man. She got dressed. We
went in the ring.

Speaker 7 (59:29):
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.

Speaker 1 (59:35):
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?

Speaker 7 (59:52):
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.

Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
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.

Speaker 1 (01:00:22):
The first time, I was like, oh no, this is
going bad.

Speaker 7 (01:00:26):
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.

Speaker 1 (01:00:46):
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.

Speaker 2 (01:00:58):
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.

Speaker 1 (01:01:15):
She she's from the streets. She gonna kick our ass.
We come down here.

Speaker 4 (01:01:18):
Did anybody did anybody take you up on any k?

Speaker 1 (01:01:21):
Come on? Now? I think the first one I have
to be the girl came off to the gym.

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
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

(01:01:46):
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.
Now you mentioned you you don't dunckt the smoke, and
anybody who follows you on social media says that you don't.

Speaker 1 (01:02:03):
Dust the smoke.

Speaker 4 (01:02:04):
You get paid to fight.

Speaker 2 (01:02:07):
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.

Speaker 1 (01:02:19):
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.

Speaker 7 (01:02:28):
So at this point you can give me a dollar
and I'll put my hands a dollar.

Speaker 1 (01:02:34):
That's it. Don't have nothing to do with whatever else.

Speaker 7 (01:02:37):
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?

Speaker 1 (01:02:46):
Why would you do that?

Speaker 7 (01:02:48):
You know you should have came to me like Shirley,
Hello Barber.

Speaker 4 (01:02:53):
Charlotte, and you're too young to know about.

Speaker 1 (01:02:58):
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?

Speaker 2 (01:03:14):
I have to say, like I I was so surprised
when I saw you trending.

Speaker 1 (01:03:18):
I'm thinking, like, did she be somebody else?

Speaker 2 (01:03:20):
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.

Speaker 1 (01:03:41):
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.

Speaker 7 (01:03:50):
You know what I'm saying. And there's plenty of reasons
why I don't really care about outside perception of of myself.

Speaker 1 (01:04:01):
I just I don't know.

Speaker 7 (01:04:02):
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

(01:04:24):
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
it's strange, but black. I mean, drama sells, that's it. Drama,
drama sales, and it's not.

Speaker 1 (01:04:40):
I wasn't. I'm not in that beef.

Speaker 7 (01:04:42):
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.

(01:05:04):
Other than that, I don't got nothing else to do with.
None of the other stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:05:08):
Well, the timing of it, I mean a lot of
people are going to see your movie anyway, the.

Speaker 7 (01:05:12):
Fires Christmas Day, the Fire Inside comes out in theaters.

Speaker 2 (01:05:16):
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.

Speaker 1 (01:05:24):
Her backstory is.

Speaker 2 (01:05:26):
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.

Speaker 1 (01:05:34):
It is a great movie.

Speaker 2 (01:05:36):
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

(01:05:59):
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
and if so, what's your opinion of the team. Now,
for those who may not be familiar, in twenty twenty three,
Fisk University became the first historically black college and university
to establish a gymnastics team. But to answer the question, yes,

(01:06:22):
I have followed this team because I heard about Morgan Price,
who earlier this year became the first athlete from an
HBCU team to win a national championship. Now coming out
of high school, Morgan was a five star level recruit
who initially committed to Arkansas, but then she did committed
to go to FIST because, according to her coach, Kauran
Tarvor Korean asked her flat out, do you want to

(01:06:44):
make history? And that's exactly what Morgan Price did. So
shout out to Fisk University for what they've accomplished. Also,
their season starts in January, so make sure you support
them and check them out. Morgan Price is special and
could be the next great one.

Speaker 1 (01:06:59):
Thank you for your question.

Speaker 2 (01:07:01):
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

(01:07:24):
spolitics pod on Instagram and TikTok, and you can also
watch the entire video episodes of these podcasts on my
YouTube page. A new episode of Politics drops every Thursday
on iHeart Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This
is politics where sports and politics don't just mix, they matter.
Spolitics is the production of iHeart Podcasts and The Unbothered Network.

(01:07:48):
I'm your host, Jamel Hill, Executive producer is Taylor Shakoin
Lucas Hymen is head of audio and executive producer. Megan
Armstrong is associate producer. Original music for Spolitics provided by
Kyle VISs from wiz fx Right