Female professional boxer Christy Martin, from Wyoming County, West Virginia, poses for a photo during a news conference on July 14, 2009, at Gino’s Pub, in Huntington.
A film starring Sydney Sweeney that tells the story of women’s boxing star and West Virginia native Christy Martin will debut next month at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival.
Female professional boxer Christy Martin, from Wyoming County, West Virginia, poses for a photo during a news conference on July 14, 2009, at Gino’s Pub, in Huntington.
HD Media file photo
Martin, elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019, is nicknamed “The Coal Miner’s Daughter.â€
In addition to David Michôd’s biopic “Christy,†with Sweeney portraying Martin, other films making their world premieres include Aziz Ansari’s “Good Fortune,†starring Keanu Reeves as an angel trying to teach a struggling man (Ansari) a lesson; and Alice Winocour’s “Couture,†starring Angelina Jolie as an American filmmaker attending Paris Fashion Week.
The Toronto International Film Festival — the largest North American festival of its kind — will kick off Sept. 4 with the debut of the documentary “John Candy: I Like Me,†from director Colin Hanks and producer Ryan Reynolds. The festival runs through Sept. 14.
Martin, a Mullens, Wyoming County, native, began boxing on a dare in 1986 while still in college, entering and winning a Tough Woman contest. Although she graduated with honors from Concord College (now Concord University), Martin pursued the “sweet science,†as boxing is sometimes known, and turned pro in 1989 while working as a substitute teacher in Tennessee.
Martin is credited with bringing women’s boxing to the mainstream in the mid-1990s, becoming the first woman to sign a promotional contract, with promoter Don King, and landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She won the WBC super welterweight championship in 2009 and compiled a 49-7-3 record, with 31 KOs in her career.
“I just wanted to be a fighter and fit into the world of boxing," Martin told The Associated Press in 2019, "and this is a dream come true.â€Â
