The surprising life of the pioneering female boxer whose story inspired Sydney Sweeney’s new film Black Bear

Sydney Sweeney has swapped her glamorous image for a new look while filming her new film, Black Bear.

The Euphoria star revealed a dowdy brown hairstyle and comfortable outfit for her role as pioneering boxer Christy Salters-Martin in director David Michod’s upcoming biopic.

Christy’s remarkable story is as incredible as any of the heroines Sweeney has played.

She married her trainer Jim Martin (played by Ben Foster in the film), who abused the boxer.

Christy’s fascinating story made headlines in 2010 when her controlling husband repeatedly stabbed Christy and shot her in the chest – narrowly missing her heart.

He did this after she told him that she was seeing his high school sweetheart, Sherry Lusk, and that she wanted a divorce.

Christy’s pink 9mm pistol was the weapon Martin used.

The prize fighter miraculously survived the assassination attempt. Jim Martin is now serving a 25-year sentence in Florida arrest for attempted second-degree murder. The expected launch date is 2035. He will be 91 years old.

Actress Sydney Sweeney revealed a dowdy brown hairstyle and comfortable outfit for her role as legendary boxer Christy Martin in director David Michod’s upcoming film Black Bear

Christy Martin pictured during her WBC Women’s Lightweight Championship win

Christy’s entry into the world of boxing began in 1986, when friends challenged her to participate in a Tough Woman contest.

After winning the fight and earning $300 – $100 for each opponent she knocked out – she was hooked.

The young fighter would soon meet Jim Martin, her trainer who would later become her husband.

The two married in 1991. Christy was 23 and Martin was 48. But the signs of trouble were there from the start: In an interview, she described their connection as more akin to a business relationship than a romantic one.

Christy Martin was 22 years old when she met her trained husband, Jim Martin. The couple is photographed in March 1996 in New York City

Professional boxer Christy Martin prepares for a training session with her husband and trainer Jim Martin

A courageous and tenacious fighter, Christy was undefeated and between 1989 and 2012 won 35 consecutive fights, CBS Sports reported.

Don King, the legendary boxing promoter, recognized the young champion and signed her. He introduced it at a Pay-Per-View event headlined by Mike Tyson. She became the first female boxer to work with King.

One of the highlights of her career was her victory over Deirdre Gogarty at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in 1996 on the Tyson vs. Bruno II.

This fight put women’s boxing on the map.

WBC and WBA women’s champion Christy Martin (left) is hit in the head by opponent Kathy Collins during their fight in New York on May 12, 2001. Martin retained her titles with a 10-round decision

Martin lifting Christy after she knocked out challenger Melinda Robinson in the 4th round of the Pound-For Women’s Boxing Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden

His celebrity grew.

She became the first boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated and made the TV circuit appearing on The Tonight show, among others.

The highs kept coming, in 2009 she held the WBC women’s super welterweight title.

In 2012, she stopped competing, but made her mark by winning 49 fights out of 59.

However, life outside the ring was filled with stress and hardship.

Christy was raised in West Virginia and her father worked as a coal miner. Her nickname was ‘The Coal Miner’s Daughter’.

When she told her family she was gay, she said, they wouldn’t accept it. It was this rejection that led her to marry Jim Martin, she told CBS News.

‘I was getting a lot of pressure from my family… not to be gay. It seemed like it was easy,” she said.

But she realized early on in her marriage how homophobic her husband was.

‘Jim would always tell me… at a press conference, if I was fighting with some girl who’s clearly there with her girlfriend, oh, ‘Make sure you say something derogatory about her – sexuality,'” she revealed.

During their turbulent relationship, he manipulated her and constantly threatened to expose the truth about his sexuality.

‘Jim Martin convinced me that the world hated me. … I’m talking about family, friends, the boxing world,” she said.

‘He always said, ‘I’m going to tell the world you’re a lesbian.’ And for some reason – you know, I just wasn’t strong enough to say, ‘Go ahead…’ she said, in part.

In 2007, Christy’s career hit a low point. Jim brought home cocaine. Feeling desperate, Christy began using while her husband supplied her addiction. But eventually she came clean and took back control.

During that dark time, she believed Jim was recording her taking drugs that she believed were to blackmail her.

By November 2010 she was ready to leave her toxic relationship. She told Jim that she wanted out of the marriage and that she was seeing her old high school crush, Sherry Lusk.

He didn’t accept it and everything became violent.

“For 20 years, he told me that if I left, he would kill me,” she recalled.

‘I stopped. I turned around. And I looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘Do what you have to do,’ she said, in part.

That’s when Jim stabbed and shot Christy. Despite her serious injuries, she still managed to fight back.

Christy Martin of Orlando, Florida lands a punch on Andrea DeShong of Mingo Junction, Ohio during the WBC Women’s Lightweight Championship

Christy Martin of Orlando, Florida celebrates her victory over Lisa Holewyne of Austin, Texas during the Woman’s Pound For Pound Championship at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, November 17, 2001. Martin won the fight by unanimous decision

Martin won the fight against Andrea DeShong for the WBC Women’s Lightweight Championship

Bleeding and bruised, Good Samaritan Rick Cole saw her on the street and rushed her to the emergency room. She was airlifted to a nearby trauma center and survived the heinous attack.

Jim Martin, who fled the scene and was on the run, was found days later and taken into custody.

The case went to trial in April 2012, and Martin was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years. Now, at age 78, he is serving time at the Graceville Correctional Center in Jackson County, Florida, according to Essentially Sports.

Today, Christy is the CEO of her own boxing promotion company. She also runs Christy’s Champs, a program to help victims of domestic violence.

Her relationship with Lusk didn’t last, but she is now happily married to former rival Lisa Holewyne.

Christy, now 56, has not spoken directly to Sweeney about the film. But she said she is delighted with the young star playing her and has even offered to train her.