WOMEN’S boxing pioneer Christy Martin was promoted by Don King, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated – and was almost murdered by her husband.
Now, Christy’s extraordinary story of triumph and tragedy is coming to the big screen, with actress Sydney Sweeney playing the boxing icon in a Hollywood biopic.
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In 2010, Christy was stabbed six times, cut in the leg and shot in the chest by Jim Martin, her husband, trainer and manager, who left her for dead on the floor of their Florida home.
Soaked in blood, the boxing legend somehow mustered the strength to leave the house and flag down a car, which took her to the hospital.
Jim was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder in 2012.
The as-yet-untitled film about his life is being produced by Black Bear alongside Sweeney’s production company, Fifty Fifty Films.
It is set to be directed by David Michôd, writer and director of The King and Animal Kingdom.
“Christy’s story is not light, it is physically and emotionally demanding, there is a lot of weight to carry. But I love challenging myself,” she said. Sweeney told Deadline.
“Christy Martin not only legitimized women’s boxing, she overcame gender stereotypes and fought against emotional, physical and financial abuse.
“I’m passionate about the world of fighting, Christy’s story illuminates her incredible rise to the top while showing the struggles for fame behind the curtains.
“I feel compelled to tell the story of a woman who faced so much adversity and did not allow it to defeat her.
“It’s powerful and emotional.”
Here’s a look at Christy’s emotional journey through fame, fortune, personal demons, toxic relationships, and an attempt on her life.
DOMESTIC ABUSE
During the 1990s and 2000s, Christy was the most famous and successful female boxer on the planet.
The welterweight posted an unprecedented 49 wins, including 31 knockouts, to enjoy mainstream success.
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For most of his career, Christy suffered a series of private demons after growing up gay in a conservative family in rural Virginia.
Martin took up sports to try to escape his coal mining community.
“Itmann was a coal field. A small speck of a city swims,” she told ESPN.
“Mountains and hills and everyone you met is a miner or a railroad worker or a teacher.
“I love West Virginia, I love the people there. But I never, not for a day, thought I would stay.”
As a youth, she played little league baseball, recreational football, and basketball, earning a scholarship to Concord University.
Christy got into boxing by accident after performing well in the Toughman Contest in 1989 and being offered a professional fight.
A local prosecutor introduced Christy to Jim, who said he was willing to train her.
At the time, Christy was 21 and Jim was 47.
“When I walked in there that day, it was immediately clear to everyone how green I was,” Christy told the Players’ Tribune.
“I had no real boxing skills. There was no method or thought to what I was doing.
“I was basically trying to swing my arms as hard as I could.”
From the beginning, Jim exerted control over Christy, beginning a long period of physical, emotional and psychological abuse.
“Christy, if you leave me, I will kill you,” he told her once.
Despite being completely incompatible as a couple, they decided to get married in 1992.
“The only way I can really explain it is that when I took the leap and married Jim, in my head, it was like I was actually marrying boxing,” she said.
“It wasn’t about love, passion or romance. There was none of that. My love was boxing.
“Jim was 25 years older than me. And I was gay. And Jim knew it.
“None of it made sense. But we got married anyway.”
Thanks to Jim’s guidance, Christy became a huge boxing star being promoted by Don King and appearing on Showtime and HBO.
She was the first boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated and even appeared in an episode of Roseanne.
Christy was a star attraction and earned up to $350,000 per fight.
Behind closed doors, however, Christy’s life was “hell”.
“Jim had complete control over everything I did. I would go to Walmart or the supermarket, turn around and he would be standing in the aisle with a mischievous little smile on his face,” she recalled.
“Or I’d go get a haircut or get my nails done and he’d show up. He’d pull up a chair right next to me.”
Christy says she became addicted to cocaine after he brought her to their house and began sexually abusing her.
She tried to leave him, but he punched her in the face so hard that his tooth pierced her lip.
“This incident actually occurred when I became convinced that Jim was going to end up killing me at some point,” she said.
“By this point, I had truly resigned myself to death. Jim was either going to kill me or I was going to do the work myself.”
MURDER ATTEMPTED
In 2010, Jim attempted to murder Christy when she told him she was leaving him.
She was convinced she would die in the brutal attack on their home.
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“Lying on the floor, being beaten, cut and beaten in every way imaginable, everything I had achieved over the years just disappeared,” she said.
“None of that mattered – all the knockouts, the big contract with Don King, getting in the ring at Madison Square Garden with the fans screaming my name, being on the card with Mike Tyson, the cover of Sports Illustrated, everything.
“Everything was reduced to nothing.
“None of these achievements were going to save me and there was nothing I could do to turn the tide. I was lost, that’s for sure.”
Jim went to the bathroom to take a shower to clean up and she somehow managed to escape the house and save her life.
A week later, Jim was arrested and ended up sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attack.
Incredibly, Christy managed to recover from her devastating injuries and returned to the ring in 2011.
She is now in a relationship with Lisa Holewyne and has built her own boxing promotion company, Christy Martin Promotions.
“There are still a few points here and there where you can tell something happened, but for the most part, [my body] the wounds have healed,” she said.
“Now, of course, what’s underneath…that’s a little more complicated.
“Sometimes I still gasp, shudder or have flashbacks when I see someone picking up a knife, or when I hear the sound of someone sharpening a knife.
“Things like that are triggering for me. But I will survive.
“I’m too tough to let things like that hurt me any longer.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
