Background
Shields was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, where she is a high school junior as of May 2012. She was introduced to boxing by her father, Bo Shields, who had boxed in underground leagues.
Shields was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, where she is a high school junior as of May 2012. She was introduced to boxing by her father, Bo Shields, who had boxed in underground leagues.
In May 2012, she qualified to compete at the 2012 Olympics, in the first year that women"s boxing was an Olympic event. In March 2016, she qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Bo was in prison beginning when Shields was two years old, and released when she was nine.
After his release, he talked to her about boxer Laila Ali, piquing her interest in the sport, although Bo nevertheless believed that boxing was a men"s sport and refused to allow Shields to pursue it until she was eleven.
At that time, she began boxing at Berston Field House in Flint, where she met her coach and trainer, Jason Crutchfield. Following Shields" victory at the United States. Olympic trials, it was initially reported that she would need only a top-8 finish at the 2012 AIBA Women"s World Boxing Championships in Qinhuangdao, China, in order to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
On May 10, the day after the contest began but before Shields" first bout, a change to the rules was announced that meant Shields would need to place in the top two from the Americas. Her chances for qualification thus depended on Marshall"s subsequent performance.
After Marshall advanced to the middleweight finals on May 18, it was announced that Shields had earned an Olympic berth.