SWEEN SCIENCE

Sydney on her role as a boxing legend in Christy biopic

- BY LYNN RUSK

CHRISTY Martin, who was nicknamed ‘the Coal Miner's Daughter’, had never imagined a life beyond her small West Virginia town until she discovered her talent for boxing.

Fuelled by an innate fighting spirit, Martin, now 57, went on to become one of the most successful female boxers in the United States.

But despite her ferocity in the ring, she was also a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her manager and husband, Jim Martin, the most dangerous opponent she ever faced.

A new film, directed and co-written by David Michod, chronicles her rise to becoming America’s best-known female boxer in the 1990s and her husband-turned-coach’s 2010 attempted murder of her.

Christy, starring Sydney Sweeney in the title role and Ben Foster as Jim, aims to spotlight patterns of abuse and amplify Martin's message of resilience.

GIFT