Fighting for Survival: My Journey through Boxing Fame, Abuse, Murder, and Resurrection

by Christy Martin, Ron Borges

MP3 CD Format Boxing legend Christy Martin was a trailblazer in the ring and continues to be an inspiration to female fighters across the globe. She is without a doubt the most important woman in the history of female combat sports. But behind the scenes Martin was in a losing battle, unable to express her true sexual identity and struggling to survive sexual and domestic abuse at the hands of her husband. In Fighting for My Journey through Boxing Fame, Abuse, Murder, and Resurrection , Christy Martin recounts her harrowing yet inspiring story. Growing up in a small town in West Virginia, Martin felt forced to keep her sexual orientation hidden to please her family and the sports world, eventually agreeing to a sham marriage with coach Jim Martin. While she rose to prominence in the world of boxing, Martin was secretly contending with substance abuse, domestic violence, and an attempted murder by her husband, who left her to die on their bedroom floor. Fighting for Survival reveals how Martin battled back to life from her near-death experience, how she overcame abuse, violence, addiction, and forty years of living in the closet, and how she turned her pain into victory and debasement into triumph. Her story is one of hope and self-belief, an inspiration for anyone struggling to break the chain of abuse or who fears to be open about their sexual orientation. It is more than the story of a boxing champion; it is the story of a survivor.

1 pages, Audio CD

Published May 30, 2023

Reviews

[A Cesspool · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much of Fighting for Survival is reinforced by revisionist-history and motivational-speak; Probably one of the most unsatisfactory Athletes' memoir, imo.

Four years snorting blow? That-aint-no-cheap, although it might explain how her sobriety date occurred within a month of home-foreclosure. Nevertheless, longtime [narco-stimulant] users will inevitably consider a more economical alternative: crystal methamphetamine. That would definitely clear up some of her more cracked-out paranoia anecdotal(s) [e.g. pouring flour below windowsills to record imagined intruder footprints].

Speaking of finances, according to Christy’s version of events, I’m pretty certain Jim Martin was on an allowance (separate from whatever contractual obligations she had with her trainer); So in all probability, the foreclosure shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. It’s unlikely Christy Martin hadn’t been aware of their “second-mortgage,” or in-default status. After all, he stole from her, indicating the lion’s share of assets wasn’t easily accessible to him (how else would she repay her father all the monies they Jim borrowed from him) – why else would he bury her siphoned loot in the backyard? I mention this as means of illustrating my biggest gripe with this “Sports biography”:
The author repeatedly plays fast-and-casual with specifics and finer details, relying too often on conjecture & stereotypes (to supplement exposition she’d rather redact). Unfortunate Martin didn’t retain the services of a legit sports journalist to commemorate her bio-legacy. Ultimately, Christy Martin is her own worst editor, imo – Every chapter features some variation of "…I may have swaggered happy-heterosexual or content housewife, but, really…”

If I had to read, just one more:

"I was still confused."

“…I didn’t have the life experience…”

Or

“It was a way to keep me under control…”

“That’s the kind of emotional control someone can have over you…”

“…another way to keep control over someone…”

The principle reason for picking up this autobio was the 2025 feature film adaptation; Specifically, Christy’s reason excuse(s) for returning to her home the night she nearly perished… Easily the most offensive, ambiguously romanticized, non-justification demonstrated. I was srsly put out when this scene was on-screen; Producers convincingly rendered Christy’s screen presence empathetically; A character we could relate to and root for… right up to the point where she cowardly-soapboxes a Hallmark Channel moment (at the climax of the third-act) as vapid annotation towards “facing down her abuser”:

Because she didn’t want him to have the house […according to the movie]

Because she didn’t want to run anymore […according to the book]

W T Fck ?

Obviously the real reason for returning – home ..where: “I was certain he was going to try to kill me…” Really?? Bc that would instinctively tilt anyone else into fight-or-flight mode – (before fleeing with Sherry) wasn’t safe for public consumption. The more the author/film producers try re-molding this faux-showdown into a The Karate Kid meets Silkwood -conflict-resolution finale (and repress the more probable Clean and Sober hitting-rock-bottom outcome), the more obvious our protagonist’s legit goal to Christy's quest that night really was: “…the coke train barely stopped.” Pp.232 [utilizing Chisty’s own words -- while still hospitalized in ICU]

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I feel like David Michôd’s aforementioned big-screen adaptation sourced more from Netflix’s Untold: Deal with the Devil (2021) [than licensed memoir]