Christy Martin was once the face of women’s boxing, but her story is more brutal than any fight.
Another instalment in Netflix’s Untold documentary series, Deal with the Devil traces how she rose from a small-town unknown to fighting on the undercard of a Mike Tyson bout.
The film is heartfelt and captivating, but one of the most intriguing aspects is seeing how Martin gained early fandom by trashing other female fighters for lacking “feminine traits.” She even made jokes, on national television about something so banal as opponents not wearing dresses.
That was the 80s and 90s. Three decades later, one would like to think things look very different here in 2025.
A victim of her circumstances, Martin also admits she knew she was gay but married her trainer, because that was what was acceptable, despite him being older than her father.
As the story deepens, toxic family dynamics surface and we get glimpses into her mother’s sorrows and how they may have shaped Martin’s choices. How they left her vulnerable to emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her much older husband. A lot of denial and refusal to accept who she truly, eventually leads her to a dangerous life threatening event which finally sets her free.
It’s a wild, bruising ride. And with a film version of her life: Christy, starring Sydney Sweeney, set to premiere at the London Film Festival in October 2025, the story clearly isn’t finished.
Watch it.. not just for the fight, but for the scars it leaves behind.
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Raw Eleven 
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