Christy Martin
“The Coal Miner’s Daughter ” CHRISTY MARTIN
46 Wins – 3 Losses – 2 Draws
31 KO’s
FAST FACTS
- Born June 12, 1968
- Age 36
- Born in Bluefield, West Virginia USA
- Resides in Bluefield, West Virginia/Orlando USA
- Height: 5′ 4 “
- Reach 65″
- Managed and Trained by husband, Jim Martin
- Professional Debut at age 21 in September 1989
PROFESSIONAL CAREER
- Professional Experience: 50 Fights
- Total Rounds: 208
- Average Lenghth of Bouts: 4.1 Rounds
- Knockout Percentage: 62%
- Distance Fights: 10 Rds – 7 (6-1)
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
- Regarding her introduction to boxing, Christy Martin said, “I did it on a dare. I’d just started college at Concord College in Athens, West Virginia. Some friends and I went to a toughwoman contest in Beckley, West Virginia. My friends started saying, ‘Come on, Christy. Do it! You play basketball. You’re in good shape.’ I didn’t know anything about boxing. I’d never hit a heavy bag or done anything like that in my life. But I was an athlete. Athletes are cocky. I liked the challenge. And the winner was supposed to get a thousand dollars. Tht’s what decided it for me. I thought I could win a thousand dollars, so I entered the contest. I was pretty nervous when I got in the ring for the first fight. I remember asking myself, ‘What am I doing here? Why did I let these people talk me into this?’ But I won three fights. There were some hard moments but no real problems. And when it was over, they gave me five hundred dollars instead of a thousand.”
- Fought seven toughwoman contests between 1986 and 1989, winning six and losing one, before turning pro.
- Her husband-manager-trainer, Jim Martin fought professionally as a light heavyweight in the 1970’s and retired with a record of 17-9. He was training only male fighters until one of his friends introduced him to Christy, who was working at the time as a substitute school teacher in Orlando. When he was first approached to train Christy, Jim said, “At first I said ‘No’. Then I thought I would let her spar with a couple of my fighters, and she would be run out of the ring. But it didn’t work out that way. She held her own, and I was impressed. I changed my mind. Then, one thing led to another. We fell in love and got married.”
STRENGTHS
- Aggressive style
- Good offensive skills
- Good punching power
- Sets up her attack with the jab
- Punches in combinations
- Experienced against top opposition
CHRISTY MARTIN PROFILE AND BIO
This fight between “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” Christy Martin and “Million Dollar Baby” star Lucia Rijker headlines the “Million Dollar Lady” event – the winner will receive one million dollars. Each fighter is guaranteed $250,000, with the winner to collect a bonus of $750,000.
Scheduled for 12 championship rounds, the fight will be sanctioned by the World Boxing Council, and will be the first female fight sanctioned by the organization.
In an interview with SweetScience.com, Christy said, “It’s the right fight at the right time. The movie, obviously, was a big part of it all coming together. ‘Million Dollar Baby’ opened up the sport to people who had only heard of it on an incidental basis.
“Lucia’s involvement in the film brought her into the mainstream media in the same way my appearance on the cover of Sports Illustraded did in 1996.
“I feel confident, not over-confident, just confident, mentally and physically. In the real world, given the publicity Lucia received from the movie, I think a lot of people will look at me as the underdog. The fight being in Los Angeles probably means that all of Hollywood will turn out rooting for Lucia. That’s not a role I’m used to, but, hey, it’s going to be decided inside the ring, not by public opinion.
“I’ve been busy training fighters in Florida with my husband Jim. I’ve been working out in the guym on a part-time basis for about six months, and I recently started an everyday route, including sparring.
“A lot of people counted me out after the Ali bout. I hope they hold that thought and continue saying that I’m done, that I haven’t been active enough, that I’ve lost my punch, whatever. That’s just the thing that gets me up and out on the road at five o’clock in the morning. That’s what will be with me in my corner on July 9.” [End SweetScience.com story]
With her aggressive style, polished skills and combination punching with power, Christy Martin single-handedly put women’s boxing on the map in the mid-to-late 1990’s.
Martin’s first appearance on a televised pay-per-view fight card came on the Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno undercard in March 1996. As a result of the world-wide exposure of that fight, Christy was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and stories were written about her in Time Magazine and People Magazine. Martin also made television appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, PrimeTime Live, The Today Show, CNN Extra!, Day & Night, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER RECORD OF KEY FIGHTS
2003
In her last fight in August 2003, Martin was knocked out by Laila Ali. Ali at 5′ 10″ tall and 162 pounds, towered over Christy at 5’4″, whose best weight is around 144. Ali simply overwhelmed her and staggered Christy in the 1st round and scored a knockdown in the 3rd. Ali scored another knockdown in the 4th round, and Christy was counted out at 0:48. After the fight, Martin said, “The size was obvious. She was just too big. She was in great shape and she kept on coming. She still fights like an amateur, but all around she was just too big. I didn’t think she would be as strong as she was. I never felt I could get a strong shot on her. What I wanted to do was stay low and go to the body. I had my hands up, but in the first round, she hit me on top of the head and I never recovered.”
2002
In December 2002, Martin won a 10-round unanimous decision against Mia St. John. Martin fought aggressively and outworked St. John, who was much more competitive than expected and had several rallies of her own. After the fight, Martin said, “I stunk tonight because I was so rusty. But give Mia credit. No one thought she had a chance and she showed a lot of heart out there. She gave me a lot of trouble with her movement.”
2001
In November 2001, Martin won a 10-round unanimous decision against Lisa Holewyne.
In May 2001, she won a 10-round majority decision against Kathy Collins.
In March 2001, Martin won a 10-round unanimous decision against Jeanne Martinez.
2000
In August 2000, Martin won a 10-round decision against Diana Lewis.
In March 2000, Martin won an 8-round majority decision against Belinda Laracuente.
1999
In October 1999, Martin TKO’d Daniella Somers in the 5th round.
In April 1999, Martin TKO’d Jovett Jackson in the 1st round.