RENOWNED BOXER CHRISY SALTERS MARTIN TELLS HER STORY

Professoional Boxer Christy Martin comes to Concord University Foundation Charleston Dinner
Photo Courtesy of Anastasiia Vorobeva 

Chrisy Salters Martin, former world boxing champion and Concord alumnus, shared her inspirational and terrifying story of her fight both in the boxing ring and in her personal life at the Concord University Foundation Charleston Dinner.

    A coal miner’s daughter, Martin got into professional boxing by winning a local Toughwoman contest. She was noticed and invited for a fight with Angela Buchanan in 1989. Even though it was a draw, she was offered a rematch, and this time she clearly won. She never thought about these matches as the start of her career, Martin pointed out in her speech. She did it for sake of a story she could tell her grandkids. Since then, she has experienced losses but primarily wins, which eventually led her to the negotiation table for a contract with Don King, one of the most prominent boxing promoters. He has worked with famous boxers  such as Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. From then, it is history. “I fought on the undercard of boxers Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, lots and lots of legends. I was even so honored to get to fight in the Madison Square Garden which is definitely the Mecca of boxing, but also the Mecca of sports if you ask me,” says Martin.

    Along the way, Christy Martin began to train under Jim Martin, who later became her husband and took over her life for the next 20 years. “I believed everything he told me. I trusted him and it was a mistake,” said Martin. It was a marriage of abuse and control, and eventually Jim Martin convinced her that she was nothing without him and that even her family hated her. Jim followed her everywhere, acting as her puppet master. He made certain that every communication of Martin with the world happened through him. Eventually, he goaded her into a cocaine addiction, and even threatened to kill her if she ever left him and he tried.

    On November 23, 2010, Jim Martin stabbed Christy Martin four times when he learned she planned to leave him. He left her in their room to bleed, but later returned to fire a point-blank shot. Somehow, Christy managed to escape and flag a ride to the hospital. Jim Martin was arrested and imprisoned for attempted murder while Christy Martin came back to the ring less than 200 days after the attack. 

    In 2011, Christy Martin lost to Dakota Stone when she broke her hand in nine places after punching Stone in the face. As a result, she had to quit boxing. Her Concord education degree was the reason to battle her depression. Now Martin is a  substitute teacher. 

    Martin’s speech was received with a standing ovation and almost everyone tried to exchange a word with her or take a picture. Words like “mindblowing,” “amazing,” “horrifying” were used to describe about her story. 

    “To have a chance to hear Christy Martin talk about her life and how Concord helped propel her and just to see all of many things she has done… to have a chance to hear all that…was amazing. I was so thankful I was able to be here. She is proud of Concord, and Concord is proud of her,” says Greg King, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Concord.

    Elliot Hicks, chairman of Concord University Board of Governors, says that the Concord University Foundation Charleston Dinner was amazing. “There was a good turnout, an enthusiastic turn out. And so many people, Concord community, we don’t get to connect all the time. It was wonderful to see everybody, all the supporters of Concord, graduates who get to come out for the events like this.” Hicks believed that Martin’s speech was incredible as well. “To see someone who can rise again, and again, and again the way she did is amazing. What a story of perseverance. It is really an inspiration.”

    The thrust of Martin’s message can be summed up in these inspiring words she shared. “No matter where you come from, no matter what obstacles you face in life, you just have to keep striving forward and you will get back to the road of success.”