PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Boxing fans will know this name: Christy Martin, an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee who is widely regarded as a pioneer for women in the sport.
Sydney Sweeney plays Martin in the upcoming biopic “Christy.”
The real Christy Martin was in Philadelphia Monday for a special early screening of the film at the Philadelphia Film Festival.
Martin is a small-town girl from West Virginia who became one of the most successful female boxers of the 90s.
Nicknamed the “the Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Christy was the first female fighter ever signed by Don King, and she’s no stranger to Philadelphia.
“I mean come on, Philly’s the fight capital of the United States, if not the world,” Martin says. “So to be here, where so many great fighters have been, is awesome!”
The biopic of her life is raw.
Christy’s life became a battle of its own, including an attempted murder by her own husband.
She lived to tell her story, and she’s using it to save other lives.
“The domestic violence victims, people dealing with sexuality issues and drug addiction, there are so many people that this movie can help,” she says.
“It shows them that, ‘If she can get up off the floor, I can get up off the floor.”
Sweeney’s performance as Christy is already getting Oscar buzz.
“For Sydney Sweeney to even be interested in taking on a role like a professional fighter, a gay professional fighter is incredible,” Martin says. “She didn’t just do the role. She was the role. She’s getting down and dirty being Christy Martin and knocking people out and liking it.”
“Christy” hits theaters November 7.
The Philadelphia Film Festival runs through October 26.
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