Christy Martin

Christy was born Christy Salters in 1968 in the coal mining town of Itmann, West Virginia. Her father, Johnny Salters, was a welder at the local coal mine and her mother, Joyce, was a stay-at-home mother. As a child, Martin played various sports and was the only girl on her town’s Little League baseball team. She attended Mullens High School and graduated from Concord College in Athens, West Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in education.

When she was 21 years old, Martin entered a Toughman Contest on a whim and was offered a professional boxing bout. At the time she had never stepped foot in a boxing ring. Her professional career kicked off with a six-round draw against Angela Buchanan followed by a rematch that she won by knockout. After a win against Tammy Jones and a loss against Andrea DeShong, Martin achieved nineteen consecutive wins.

By the time she retired in 2012, Martin held a record of 49 wins, 7 losses, and 3 draws with 31 wins by knockout. In 2016, Martin became the first female boxer inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame. In total, she has been inducted into six Halls of Fame, including the International Boxing Hall of Fame. She has appeared on “Leno”, “Letterman”, “Good Morning America,” the “Today” show, and others.

Martin is the CEO of Christy Martin Promotions, a boxing promotion company, and is the founder of Christy’s Champs, an organization that supports victims of domestic abuse. Following her retirement, Martin also worked as a substitute teacher and as a domestic violence victim’s advocate. In 2017 she married former ring rival and world champion boxer Lisa Holewyne.

In 2010, Christy survived a violent murder attempt by her former husband. Her story is documented on the 48 Hours episode The Fight of Her Life, which aired on CBS in November, 2020—ten year after the brutal attack.