Who Is Christy Martin, the Boxer Sydney Sweeney’s Entering the Ring To Play?

The big picture

• It was recently announced that Sydney Sweeney will play boxing icon Christy Martin in an upcoming David Michôd biopic.
• Christy Martin overcame abuse, violence and adversity to become a famous hall of fame boxing icon.
• Martin's resilience and success in boxing paved the way for women's boxing to be in the spotlight.

Sydney Sweeney has been one of Hollywood's fastest-rising actors in the past couple of years, and it looks like his brilliance is only going to get brighter. The breakout star of euphoria who recently led hits like Anyone but you i immaculate The lead to play the hall of fame boxer was recently announced Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic headed by David Michod. Based on Sweeney's star power, Michôd's cinematic prowess and the huge hype behind it, the film about one of the biggest names in boxing in the 1990s is looking to be a surefire blockbuster. While everyone is somewhat curious about how Sweeney will play the role, it's best to first know who Martin is in the world of boxing and how her troubled personal life led her to be the subject of a movie in the first place. Also, if you can't wait for the next biopic, Martin's life and career are documented on Netflix. Untold: Deal with the Devil.

Who is Christy Martin?

Martin was introduced to sports from a very young age. She was a catcher in Little League Baseball and played basketball at both Mullens High and Concord College. In 1987, her love affair with combat sports began when she entered a “tough guy” competition, the first year women were allowed to compete, easily winning the contest due to her training focused on sport. He also experienced a natural rise every time he was in the ring, stating that “The adrenaline rush of knocking someone out is probably the best drug in the world.” Finding a fondness for fighting, she trained and began her professional career in 1989 with a six-round draw against Angela Buchanan. His career took off after his fifth fight. With a decision victory over Andrea DeShong in 1990, Martin finally broke through in competition, racking up an astonishing 16-fight winning streak. In 1991, she and her eventual husband Jim Martin got together and everything seemed to be heading in the right direction. Legendary boxing promoter Don King was on board and Christy eventually gained more and more recognition.

In 1996, in the midst of another 15-match winning streak, she beat Deirdre Gogarty in a Showtime televised boxing match, bringing a lot of attention to women's boxing. Soon, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, copies of which sold out worldwide.. In an interview with News from New York, Martin noted that she became aware of her fame while walking down Rodeo Drive one day, and people who worked there were coming up to her, asking for an autograph. This deserved stardom of an athlete who fought through all the adversities did not go to her head. Apart from her humility, it was also due to the fact that her husband gave her the exact opposite idea. In the same interview, Martin shares that Jim manipulated her, claiming that he “told me that the boxing world hated me, that my family hated me, that I had no fans,” leaving Christy in a world of convulsions Her relationship with her husband was getting worse by the second and was the biggest problem in her life outside the ring.

Christy Martin was in an abusive marriage

Unbeknownst to the public, Christy Martin was gay, a secret her husband had known since they started working together. Still, they decided to get married, leading to a long relationship full of lies and abuse. In 2010, her marriage fell apart, affected by one of the most horrifying acts of abuse she had experienced in her life. While taking a nap at her home in Tampa, Florida, she heard her husband sharpening a knife. Suddenly, he attacked her. He stabbed Christy several times, beating her mercilessly and fired a bullet into her chest, luckily missing her heart by only a few inches. The whole attack lasted more than an hour. When he heard the bathroom water being turned on, indicating that Jim was going to take a shower, the boxer took his chance and managed to escape from his house. Unfortunately, he took the wrong car keys, but miraculously, a man named Rick Cole drove by and stopped to take Christy to safety.

Christy was physically safe, but seeking justice was another matter. The trial that took place two years later left her with many doubts. Prosecutors wondered whether the jury would believe that Jim, a much older and apparently frail old man, could do such great physical harm to a wrestler. He finally got his answer, and full justice, as the judge handed down a sentence of 25 years without the possibility of parole. Jim Martin is not expected to be released from his sentence because of his old age.

Christy Martin is a famous Hall of Fame boxing icon

Christy might have been taken for dead by her ex-husband, but she wasn't out. Her nickname “the coal miner's daughter” signified her working-class sensibilities and her undying will to recover from her traumatic past. He married his former sparring partner Lisa Holewyne in 2017 and goes by her maiden name, Salters. In 2020, she was included in the International Boxing Hall of Fame along with other big names like Bernard Hopkins and Juan Manuel Marquez. He has not left boxing entirely; As the person who gave Don King his big break, Christy Salters is now a fight promoter and runs a business in Austin, Texas. Outside the ring, he also works with domestic violence shelters whenever he gets the chance, and makes an annual phone call to his savior, Rick Cole, as a token of appreciation for saving his life.

Christy built his own stock from scratch and became one of the biggest names in professional boxing. Her Hall of Fame career has been instrumental in putting women's boxing in the spotlight, the brilliance of which it still partly enjoys today. In her own words, at the end of the day, she is a fighter in every sense of the word. Sydney Sweeney and David Michôd certainly have their work cut out for them, but they definitely have a lot to bring to the table in bringing Christy's story to the general public. Hopefully, just like his fights, he'll be a full-blown slug knocker.

Untold: Deal with the Devil is available to stream on Netflix in the United States

Watch on Netflix