RM For Sydney Sweeney, Portraying Christy Martin Was a Deep Responsibility, Not Just a Role

Christy Salters Martin isn’t quite enjoying the press tour. While she does appreciate certain aspects—like seeing new cities and watching her Pomeranian, Champ, earn platinum status with American Airlines—what she truly craves is time at home.

That home, however, isn’t Apopka, Florida, where she and her wife, fellow former boxer Lisa Holewyne, live near the place where Christy’s then-husband tried to kill her. Instead, she longs to return to rural West Virginia, where her story began.

“They keep asking if I want to do shows like The Drew Barrymore Show with Sydney,” she says, laughing. “But honestly, I just want to go home. It’s important to me.”

Salters Martin has watched Christy—the biographical film about her life starring Sydney Sweeney—three times so far. The first viewing was with her wife in a private screening room, the second at the Toronto Film Festival, and the third with her close-knit group in Orlando. At the premiere in Beckley, West Virginia, she requested that no Q&A follow the screening. “They know me from when I was a crazy kid,” she says, laughing at the thought of old high school friends asking questions.

Her relationships with people from her past are complicated. Both her mother, Joyce, and her brother, Randy, have passed away, and she’s uncertain whether her father, Johnny, will ever see the film. Salters Martin quietly contemplates the possibility of one day embracing him, even as her thoughts linger on those she lost along the way.

She might not watch the movie again. Watching it for the first time, she found herself shocked by the new details that surfaced each time. “When I saw it in Toronto, I said to Lisa, ‘But those scenes weren’t in the last screening!’ She said, ‘Yes, they were.’ So, I guess my brain just shut down to protect me,” she says.

The film’s depiction of Salters Martin’s rise as a boxing champion and her survival of domestic violence hit her hard. She signed off on the film’s portrayal because, as she lay in a hospital bed after her near-fatal stabbing by her ex-husband, she made a promise to God: “If you let me live, I’ll help someone before I die.” She added with a smirk, “And I said, ‘I’ll help someone every day.’ So that’s what I try to do.”

Every day, she relives the worst moments of her life, standing before crowds of people who think they know her.

When Sydney Sweeney first encountered Salters Martin’s story, she was struck by how little she knew about her. The script for the movie arrived in March 2024, and Sweeney, while flying to Barcelona, devoured it in one sitting.

“I was so surprised I hadn’t heard of her,” Sweeney recalls.

It is surprising, given Salters Martin’s groundbreaking career. After taking up boxing on a dare, she became the most famous female boxer of her era. She had everything: a memorable nickname, The Coal Miner’s Daughter; the iconic pink gear; and a fierce attitude. She signed with the legendary promoter Don King in 1993, and her fame exploded after her bloody, thrilling fight against Deirdre Gogarty in 1996. Salters Martin’s victory in that six-round bout even outshone the Mike Tyson–Frank Bruno main event. She graced the cover of Sports Illustrated just a month later.

But the public misunderstood the reality of her life. Her marriage to Jim Martin, 25 years her senior, was often portrayed as a quirky detail, even as Salters Martin endured escalating abuse at his hands. Jim controlled her every move, even isolating her from friends and family. He manipulated her into a marriage she didn’t want, exposing her sexual orientation in an attempt to coerce her into compliance. He abused her physically and emotionally, and the world believed their marriage was a partnership, not a prison.

The abuse escalated over time, culminating in a violent attack in 2010. After a brutal argument, Jim stabbed Christy four times and shot her at close range. Miraculously, she survived, dragging herself out of the house and into the street, where a stranger helped rush her to the hospital.

In the aftermath, despite severe injuries, she returned to the boxing ring just six months later. Her physical toll was immense: broken bones, a stroke during surgery—but Salters Martin fought on. Though she never won another bout, she kept boxing, fulfilling her commitment to live and inspire others.

After retiring, Christy began to share her story. She took on substitute teaching, worked with disabled adults and veterans, and became a vocal advocate against domestic violence. She even launched her own boxing promotion company, Christy Martin Promotions, and worked to reclaim her identity, using both her maiden and married names—Christy Salters Martin.

On set, Sydney Sweeney dove deep into Christy’s life, reading her autobiography and studying her boxing style to perfect every punch. She even trained intensely for the role, adding 30 pounds of muscle and building a boxing gym in her grandmother’s shed in Idaho. It was a grueling process, but Sweeney wanted to portray Christy authentically.

“I loved it,” Sweeney says of her training. “I wanted to fight. I wanted to experience what Christy went through, the physicality, the strategy—it felt like a superpower.”

The film’s fight scenes were intense, with Sweeney often taking the blows herself, rarely using a stunt double. Salters Martin was on set to guide her, sometimes shouting out boxing moves. “Get her with the left hook!” Salters Martin would yell, only to laugh when Sweeney, already knowing the sequence, responded, “Christy, I know the left hook is coming!”

As Sweeney and Salters Martin grew close during the shoot, the bond between them became evident. Sweeney, in particular, found Salters Martin’s resilience inspiring.

“She’s one of the most caring, kind, and joyful people I’ve ever met, despite everything she’s been through,” says Sweeney. “Her story shows that no matter what happens, leading with kindness is always the right choice.”

For Sweeney, this film became more than just a project; it became a responsibility. She felt the weight of telling Christy’s story, wanting to do justice to the survivor who had gone through so much.

The film’s release, despite a modest box-office performance of $1.3 million in its opening weekend, had a larger impact. Both Sweeney and Salters Martin received messages from viewers who said the movie made them rethink their relationships, and in some cases, even saved lives.

In fact, Salters Martin received a message from someone involved in the film that took her breath away. “I can’t tell you what the message said,” she says, “but we saved a life.”

For Salters Martin, it’s about more than reliving the past or promoting a movie. It’s about making an impact, telling her story, and reaching people who need to hear it. “This is about Christy’s story,” she says. “But I hope it helps others take that first step toward safety. If it does, then we’ve succeeded.”