1980s–2010sAmericanOrthodoxretired
Christy Martin
“The Coal Miner's Daughter”
Record: 49–7–3 (32 KO)Weight classes: Lightweight, Super lightweight, WelterweightBorn: 1968-06-12
Titles & honours
- WBC Super Welterweight Champion (2009)
Biography
Christy Martin, born Mullens, West Virginia in 1968, was the first woman to be signed by Don King Productions (1993) and is widely credited as the fighter who put women's boxing on the mainstream American sports map. Her March 1996 fight with Deirdre Gogarty on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno II was the first time a women's bout was featured in the main slot of a Showtime PPV. The bout was so well-received that Time magazine put Martin on its cover the following week — a watershed moment for women's boxing. Survived a near-fatal 2010 stabbing by her husband and has become an advocate against domestic violence.