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See Sydney Sweeney’s Stunning Transformation For New Boxing Biopic
Sydney Sweeney's latest relation packs a heck of a punch.
The 27-year-old is going the unrecognizable way to play boxer Christy Martin, the barrier-smashing American pugilist who survived being brutally attacked by her husband, successful an upcoming biopic.
"Her travel is simply a testament to resilience, strength, and hope," Sweeney posted connected Instagram Oct. 16, "and I'm honored to measurement into her shoes to stock her almighty communicative with you all."
The Euphoria actress—who shared a pic showing disconnected her muscular arms—also took a airy plaything astatine the "paps successful bushes" who snapped her connected set, thereby letting the feline retired of the container astir her grooming for the as-yet untitled task being directed by David Michôd and costarring Ben Foster.
And the play is truthful overmuch much than an against-all-odds sports saga astir the archetypal pistillate boxer to go a personage successful her ain right, portion going 49-7-3 with 32 knockouts implicit the people of her 22-year career.
These are the details of Christy's simultaneously harrowing, heartbreaking and inspiring story:
Who is Christy Martin?
Born connected June 12, 1968, successful West Virginia, Christy Salters didn't shy distant from playing with the boys—not slightest because, increasing up successful the 1970s successful a tiny coal-mining town, determination weren't galore robust section sports programs for girls.
"Itmann was a ember camp," Christy told ESPN of her hometown successful 2020. "A tiny small speck of a thing town. Mountains and hills and everyone you knew, they're either miners oregon railroaders oregon teachers. I emotion West Virginia, I emotion the radical there. But I ne'er for 1 time thought I was going to stay."
She played Little League, hoops and shot arsenic a kid, past attended Concord University successful Athens, W.Va., connected a women's hoops assistance portion earning her grade successful carnal education.
The 5-foot-4 powerhouse lone climbed into the boxing ringing connected a dare, erstwhile friends challenged her to participate a section Toughwoman contention during her freshman twelvemonth She won $1,000, but didn't program connected making a vocation of it.
The Ring Magazine via Getty Images
Word got around, though, and successful 1989 she was approached by a promoter who was looking for an hostile for a much experienced combatant to circular retired a women's bout successful Bristol, Tenn.
When that lucifer ended successful a astonishing draw, Christy was determined to bash amended adjacent clip and duly won a rematch 3 weeks later, according to her bio from the Women Boxing Archive Network.
After graduating from college, she moved to Bristol to bid professionally successful 1991.
"She talked astir being a coach," Christy's mom, Joyce Salter, told ESPN successful 2020. "We ne'er thought she'd extremity up being a boxer. She did person this Smurfette poster successful her country that said 'Girls Can Do Anything!'"
As "sort of a macho guy" who "didn't deliberation women belonged successful the combat game," trainer James "Jim" Martin was unimpressed—and really downright hostile—when helium archetypal spied Christy and Joyce successful his Bristol gym.
"So I had it each acceptable up to person her ribs broke," helium admitted to Sports Illustrated in 1996, erstwhile his then-wife became the archetypal pistillate boxer to look connected the magazine's cover. "A mates of ribs, anyway. But the brag shows up, the feline who invited her retired to the gym, truthful I thought I'd enactment that disconnected for a mates of days. How would it look if I had her ribs broke close away?"
Thrown disconnected his program by the persistent beingness of the boss, Jim said, helium soon realized Christy—who's 25 years his junior—was a amended listener than astir of his fighters. Plus, she was tough, seemingly fearless, a speedy survey and skilled beyond her grooming level, truthful overmuch truthful that Jim recalled reasoning to himself, "Maybe this pistillate tin marque maine immoderate money."
But earlier Jim changed his mind, Christy recalled to ESPN, "He hated me. I walked out. My ma encouraged maine to spell backmost and fto him bid me."
Tim Thompson/MediaNews Group/Oakland Press via Getty Images
They joined astatine City Hall successful Daytona Beach, Fla., successful 1992 and settled successful Orlando.
Looking backmost connected what brought them unneurotic romantically, Christy told the New York Times in 2011, "I deliberation it was conscionable I was young, it was conscionable a clip successful my life. I don’t cognize what the attraction was, particularly now. It’s hard to say."
Billed arsenic "The Coal Miner's Daughter," Christy was winning but not making overmuch money. Her profile—and purse— grew aft she persuaded legendary boxing promoter Don King to motion her aft helium caught 1 of her fights.
Al Bello /Allsport
Her breakthrough to different tier of personage came successful March 1996, erstwhile she fought connected the undercard of a Mike Tyson bout connected pay-per-view. She was paid $15,000 to Iron Mike's $30 million, per Sports Illustrated, but the visibility propelled her adjacent purse to $75,000.
And yet the boxer known for her all-pink ensembles successful the ringing wasn't funny successful utilizing her increasing level to advocator for chap pistillate athletes, telling SI after her PPV bout she "would never" combat connected an all-woman card, either.
"I'm not retired to marque a connection astir women successful boxing, oregon adjacent women successful sports," Christy, past 27, told the publication. "I'm not trying to enactment women successful the forefront, and I don't adjacent deliberation this fascination [with me] has overmuch to bash with that. This is astir Christy Martin."
What happened erstwhile Christy Martin joined Jim Martin?
In hindsight, "I wasn't precise worldly," Christy told ESPN successful 2020. "I believed successful people, believed a batch of bulls--t."
Jim made definite she fought with a spot connected her shoulder, she explained, keeping her isolated from friends and household and telling her everyone was retired to get her—except him. He criticized her quality and made her measurement herself aggregate times a day. He belittled her intellgence.
"Jim would say, 'Everybody hates you, you are retired present alone,'" Christy said. "He made maine consciousness it's maine against the world...It was evil, but it wasn't altogether a lie. It was maine against the satellite successful a batch of ways."
The Ring Magazine via Getty Images
And portion her per-fight interest climbed arsenic precocious arsenic $350,000 (en way to $4.5 cardinal successful vocation earnings), Jim helped himself, buying costly clothes, jewelry and cars. According to details shared by the prosecution during his 2012 transgression trial, Jim was secretly signaling her telephone calls, speechmaking her messages, and filming her successful the house, including successful the bath and bedroom. He threatened to nonstop embarrassing footage to her parents and radical who could power her career.
"Jim controlled each facet of Christy's life," Florida authorities lawyer Deborah Barra, who prosecuted Jim for attacking his wife, told ESPN. "He was vindictive. He told her cipher would emotion her but him. She believed she owed him everything."
Moreover, Christy told ESPN, "For 20 years, helium told maine helium was going to termination maine if I ever near him. At first, I didn't deliberation helium was serious. But past clip went on. And I realized."
Margaret C. Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
All the while, she kept fighting, becoming progressively famous—appearing connected galore speech shows, making a cameo connected Roseanne—as she racked up victories.
As she cracked to SI in 2016, "I felt threatened from the time of the marriage. I'd ne'er been knocked retired but by Jim."
But her dominance started to wan successful 2003, erstwhile she was knocked retired for the archetypal clip by Laila Ali, aft which 4 much of her vocation losses came successful the adjacent 3 years.
After eking retired a triumph implicit Dakota Stone successful September 2009, Christy retreated from the circuit, spending clip person to location successful Apopka, Fla., moving with young boxers astatine a adjacent gym and caring for her husband, who underwent open-heart country successful aboriginal 2010 and spent 2 weeks successful a coma, according to the NY Times.
Their matrimony "had been implicit for a precise agelong time," she told the NY Times in 2011. "But I’m a quality being, a precise compassionate quality being, I deliberation you tin emotion idiosyncratic but not beryllium successful emotion with them."
And Jim "was inactive my trainer," she said. “We inactive lived successful the aforesaid location similar we had been, but it truly wasn’t a marriage. I did what I thought was the close happening for maine to bash arsenic a person. And I thought that possibly erstwhile helium woke up that possibly things would change."
But it was yet Christy who decided it was clip for a change. She had reconnected with her precocious schoolhouse woman online (she told ESPN their romance backmost past was a concealed she kept from her full family), and successful November 2010 she told Jim she was leaving him, according to tribunal documents reviewed by the NY Times.
What did Jim Martin bash to woman Christy Martin?
On Nov. 23, 2010, Christy told her longtime hairdresser that her matrimony was over. She said they had agreed to support surviving unneurotic until her adjacent fight, past divided the purse and separate.
"Christy looked truly bully and blessed and peaceful," salon proprietor Deana Gross testified during Jim's trial, per ESPN. "When she left, she was walking distant and she told america that she loved us."
What Christy was doing was saying goodbye, the jock told ESPN, recalling however that was her program but she knew each excessively good that Jim mightiness not fto her go.
Shortly aft 5:30 p.m. that night, arsenic Christy aboriginal testified during Jim's trial, she was successful their chamber putting connected her shoes to spell for a tally erstwhile Jim, hands down his back, said helium had thing to amusement her.
He proceeded to stab her 4 times successful the torso and coiled her successful the leg, according to the constabulary study prosecutors work from astatine trial. She fought backmost but, during the struggle, she realized that helium had the pinkish 9-millimeter Glock she usually kept hidden nether the mattress successful his pocket. After getting the precocious manus again, Jim changeable Christy successful the chest. She reached for the phone, Christy said, but Jim had unplugged it.
Then, she elaborate connected the stand, Jim went into the bath and she heard the ablution running. She said she managed to marque it retired the beforehand doorway and into the street, wherever she flagged down a passing car and the obliging motorist drove her to the exigency room.
The reigning World Boxing Council pistillate super-welterweight champion was hospitalized for 10 days. "She had tubes moving everywhere, stitches each implicit her head, connected her face," ma Joyce told ESPN. "It's thing you ne'er forget."
She recalled the archetypal happening her girl told her erstwhile she was yet capable to talk again: "I told you helium was crazy, Mom."
Police arrested Jim a week aboriginal aft uncovering him hiding successful a neighbor's shed, authorities said astatine the time.
And the archetypal spot Christy went aft being discharged from the infirmary was the gym. It was "where I felt safe," she told TODAY in 2019, "so that's wherever I went backmost to."
D Dipasupil/FilmMagic
And hardly 2 months aft the attack, Christy announced astatine a Jan. 19, 2011, property conference successful Manhattan that she planned to combat again that March.
“I've been done a batch successful the past fewer weeks that I’m definite astir of you cognize about," the 42-year-old said. "But God’s fixed maine the accidental to commencement again. I conscionable privation to accidental this beingness gives america each hurdles. Life gave maine immoderate lemons and I person decidedly made pinkish lemonade."
As for wherefore she wanted to get backmost successful the ringing close distant aft being truthful severely hurt, she told the New York Times, "I'm successful the wounded business."
What happened astatine Jim Martin's proceedings connected attempted execution charges?
Jim pleaded not blameworthy to charges of attempted first-degree murder, attempted manslaughter and aggravated battery. During his bail hearing, his attorneys told the justice helium was "a frail 67-year-old antheral with a bosom information and diabetes" and nary grounds could accidental for definite "who’s the aggressor, who's acting successful self-defense."
Taking the basal during his 2012 trial, Jim denied stabbing Christy and maintained the weapon misfired arsenic they struggled.
"It's my truth," helium said nether cross-examination. "We were unneurotic 24/7. Nobody stays with anybody 24/7 unless they emotion each other."
Jim's lawyer Bill Hancock alleged astatine proceedings that Christy attacked the suspect due to the fact that he'd started telling radical successful the boxing satellite that she was leaving him for a woman.
Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
"Some radical received compromising photographs of Mrs. Martin," the defence lawyer said successful court, per NBC affiliate WESH. "At that constituent successful clip Christy Martin felt threatened, her beingness felt threatened and her vocation felt threatened."
Christy testified for 3 hours, detailing the carnal and intelligence maltreatment her hubby allegedly inflicted connected her implicit the 20 years they were together, arsenic good arsenic the harrowing events of the nighttime she astir died. After she stepped down from the witnesser stand, she reportedly approached the defence table, enactment her look adjacent to Jim's and said, "I anticipation you rot successful hell, you motherf---er."
Consider the prosecution gobsmacked. "In 115 trials I've done," authorities lawyer Deborah Barra told ESPN, "the unfortunate has ne'er done that. Everybody was stunned."
Jim was convicted successful April 2012 of attempted second-degree execution and sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 25 years successful prison.
Addressing the tribunal during his June sentencing, helium said, "I conjecture I made a mistake by not entering a plea of self-defense."
Where is Jim Martin now?
Jim, 77, is serving his condemnation astatine Graceville Correctional Facility successful Jackson County, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. He's owed to beryllium released Nov. 22, 2035.
In a 2023 occurrence of the Netflix docuseries Untold: Deal With the Devil, Jim maintained helium was conscionable trying to support himself from Christy connected the nighttime successful question.
"I wasn't adjacent trying to wounded her," helium said successful the series. “When they announced my sentence, I didn’t flinch. It says successful the insubstantial I didn’t flinch. I wasn’t going to amusement immoderate weakness. She’s the worst happening that ever happened successful my life, if you would look astatine wherever I'm at. But I lived a beauteous bully life. I was happy."
Where is Christy Martin now?
Christy's comeback fight, postponed to June 2011, ended aft she broke her manus successful the 4th circular and couldn't continue.
Alex Menendez/Getty Images
After she retired from the sport, she taught schoolhouse and launched Christy Martin Promotions. She remains a regular connected the warring circuit, arsenic good arsenic advocates for maltreatment survivors done her instauration Christy's Champs.
She was the archetypal pistillate inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame successful 2016, and was among the inaugural radical of women inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame successful 2020 (albeit successful a pandemic-delayed ceremonial successful 2021), the archetypal twelvemonth the ballot was opened to women.
Still, Christy conscionable saw herself arsenic a boxer, period.
"When radical near [my fights], I wanted them to say, 'Wow, that was a bully fight!'" she told ESPN successful 2020. "Not 'That was a bully woman's fight.' I didn't privation to beryllium a bully pistillate fighter. I wanted to beryllium the best."
She besides started going by Salters again, though she acknowledged Martin was the sanction everyone knew.
"The sanction happening is touchy due to the fact that Jim would ever archer me, 'I don't attraction what happens, you tin divorcement me, you tin leave, whatever. You'll ever beryllium Christy Martin,'" she said connected TODAY in 2019. And helium was right, successful a way, she noted, due to the fact that "Christy Martin is the boxer that made the name. But I made the name. He didn't."
Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images
On the idiosyncratic front, Christy has been joined to erstwhile boxer Lisa Holewyne since 2017. While they had a whirlwind courtship, they've known each different since 2001, erstwhile Christy bested Lisa successful the undercard for the heavyweight bout betwixt Hasim Rahmanand and Lennox Lewis.
"She boxed circles astir me," Lisa recalled to ESPN. "It was aggravating."
Regarding her sexuality, "I've been hiding who I genuinely americium since I was 12," Christy reflected. Afraid of being rejected by her parents—and, she said, assured by Jim that they would—"I didn't truly person a choice."
As for her ex-husband, "I privation I wouldn't person ever met him," Christy said. "But past I would ne'er person been the boxer I am."
Meanwhile, number her among the fans who's excited to spot what Sydney Sweeney does with the relation of Christy Martin.
Al Bello
"I deliberation she is young, hot, talented and astir to marque a movie that successful 20-plus years, fathers volition ticker with their daughters to marque them alert of home violence," Christy told TMZ successful May.
And erstwhile Sydney shared the fruits of her grooming labour earlier this period connected Instagram, Christy reposted with a caption saying she was "beyond excited and grateful" to person the histrion bring her communicative to life, "the battles I faced some wrong and extracurricular the ring."
Christy continued, "Her talent, passion, and dedication to her trade are unmatched, and I couldn’t inquire for a much astonishing creator to represent me. It’s unthinkable to spot however she embodies not conscionable the combatant successful me, but the pistillate who overcame it all. Sydney, convey you for diving heavy into my journey—can’t hold for the satellite to spot this."
