FACTOIDS
Full Name: Christy Martin
Nickname: "The Coal Miner's Daughter "
Birthday: June 12, 1968
Height: 5’4"
Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia USA
Sports: Boxing
PROFILE
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."
