Boxing

Interview With Christy Martin

By Ed Ludwig

15.08 - On August 23 from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, MS the first Super Fight in women's boxing will take place when Christy "The Coal Miners Daughter" Martin (45-2-2 30 KO's) will challenge Laila Ali (15-0 12 KO's) live on Pay Per View. The feud between these two stars has escalated to the point where there was a press conference brawl that was seen on national television. Heated words exchanged between the two combatants have been rampant since and Martin is ready to teach the young and brash Ali a lesson that she will not soon forget. Martin is the original superstar of women's boxing while Ali hopes to defeat her and inject some new blood into the women's game. Ali will bring in a big size and weight advantage while Martin counters with her experience and unquestionable heart and dedication. I would like to thank Christy Martin for taking the time to speak with Eastside Boxing.

Ed Ludwig: How is training camp and are you all set for August 23rd?

Christy Martin: Everything is going great. We are working like I used to and my weight is down to 142 and I haven't been down there naturally for a long time and this is a reflection of how hard I've trained. Everything seems to be falling into place.

EL: I wanted to ask you about the press conference and what really happened with the brawl? Some of the news coverage implied it was more of a hoax or hype.

CM: It was legitimate and what had happened was all morning we had been together doing photo shoots, taping commercials for the fight and she really walked around me all morning like I didn't exist and that it was all about her and people would tune in and watch her shadowbox or something. It takes the both of us to make this a success and when we got to the press conference she says she's going to beat me down and she was talking directly to me and not addressing the media at the press conference. I felt like I needed to stand up and show I wasn't intimidated by anything she said or her size or her last name. It doesn't matter to me so I stood up because I had to stand my ground.

EL: Why does Laila Ali show such a lack of disrespect for you? My perception from the outside looking in is that Ali looks at you as a stepping-stone when you are the true pioneer of women's boxing.

CM: I think it shows a lot about her character by being so disrespectful for me because had it not been for the opportunities Don King gave me and then when I was given the opportunities I was ready to take advantage of it she probably would have never got involved with boxing. Ali said herself that she got involved with the sport because she saw me fighting on a Pay Per View card and for her to disrespect me the way she has shows a lack of character.

EL: What do you think of all the trash talking thus far?

CM: I think that she wants to intimidate me because she thinks it will scare me but talking won't get it done. When the bell rings it will be just the two of us in the ring and no one will be able to save her. I hope she tries to knock me out in five rounds because she will get so frustrated when I answer the bell for round six she will not know what to do.

EL: Hatred is a strong word but is there real personal and bitter feelings between the two of you?

CM: Well, you know leading up to the fight I really didn't have any feelings about her one-way or the other. I didn't respect or disrespect her but with the incident in Mississippi and after spending some time with her I see what kind of person she is. I don't hate her because that's a powerful word but I disrespect Ali as a person more than anything. Her attitude doesn't win fans and maybe she doesn't care.

EL: Is Laila Ali as good as she thinks?

CM: You know what? There isn't anyway she could be as good as she thinks because she thinks she's so good. Her father talked a lot of smack and he did it in a much more playful way and I think he did it to try and get under peoples skin and with her she does it in a total arrogant and conceited way. I have not heard anyone say anything nice about her.

EL: If Laila did not have the "Ali" name would anyone really notice her?

CM: If she didn't have the last name she would just be another name in women's boxing. The best fighters in women's boxing are from 135 to 147 anyway.

EL: Mia St. John surprised many people by bringing her "A" game so to speak when she fought you. Will Ali have to do the same?

CM: I don't think she can. Mia had a lot of experience, she's been doing martial arts and things like that since she was five or six years old and she has always been in gyms. Mia has more heart then people will give her credit for. She was training with the Garcia's and she had a lot of confidence when we fought. Mia had a game plan to survive and I don't think Laila can take it and keep taking it.

EL: Should you defeat Ali what is left for you to accomplish?

CM: After we beat her we can sit back and pick and choose someone and I want to get to fifty wins. Maybe I'll fight Frazier or Lucia if she can come to the table and we can make a deal with her. There are people I still haven't fought but I would really like to get the fifty wins.

EL: Over the last few years there was a lot of talk involving a fight between you and Lucia. Did Bob Arum have anything to do with the collapse of this fight being made when he dropped Lucia and signed Mia St. John to a contract?

CM: It was more Lucia and she was at fault and not Bob Arum. She was presented with contracts on a couple of different occasions from Don and every time he thought he had a deal with her or an agreement she would come up with more excuses. I'm not sure how much she really wants to fight me because she gets enough press talking about how much she wants to fight me.

EL: How do you feel about Lucia Rijker in general?

CM: I hate Lucia! I'm not even going to waste my time to hate Laila but Lucia, yeah! Like I said earlier, "Hate" is a powerful word but I have true hate for Lucia.

EL: I remember a few years ago that Lucia showed up at one of your training sessions and sucker punched you. What went on there?

CM: Right! In Los Angeles she sucker punched me as I was preparing for a fight with Belinda Laracuente. It turned out to be a tougher fight then it should have been. I had a broken finger on each hand and a broken bone in my foot and I still went ahead and fought. I could have done better had I not been injured from the whole Lucia thing.

EL: You are a pioneer in women's boxing and even an icon as it was you that put it on the map. Was there a lot of pressure as time passed and the sport grew?

CM: There was definitely pressure on me all the time because I was supposed to win every time and knock people out. I really put a lot of pressure on myself to live up to that and now I'm much more relaxed. With the upcoming fight I am much more relaxed because people think she is going to walk right through me plus I don't have to worry about making weight. I know that I am going to win and I don't have the extra pressure on me like "Oh my gosh! I have to knock this person out". With Mia I didn't train a lot but I ran a lot but I really wasn't in the gym. I had pressure on myself to knock her out and I thought I could with body shots but she took some great body shots.

EL: Do you believe your upcoming fight with Ali will spark some added interest in women's boxing as it has tailed off a little in the eyes of the general public?

CM: It has definitely tailed off. I think the peak of women's boxing was in 96 and 97 when Don had me fighting on the same cards as Mike Tyson and that brought great exposure and people really caught on to me for some reason. From then on it's been on the decline and for the reasons, I don't know. Maybe promoters don't want to use the women because they want more money but I don't really have an explanation but I do feel it's on a major decline.

EL: Going back to the beginning, how did you get your start in boxing and when did you realize that was what you wanted to do?

CM: I started when I was in college. My degree is in education but while I was in college some people dared me to enter a tough-woman contest and I did and then I fell in love with the challenge. I think it's the ultimate sport mentally, physically and emotionally and you are challenged to the max.

EL: Life after boxing, will you stay involved with it or pursue other avenues?

CM: Jim is training a couple of fighters that are both young and exciting so I'll help them out with the media and show them what they need to do and how they should approach interviews. Help them with the P.R. side of it and my husband and I want to have a baby so we will keep busy.

EL: Anything you want to say to Laila Ali as fight time draws closer?

CM: I'm coming!

EL: Comments for your fans?

CM: This will be something for the fans. They really wanted to see this fight and I'm going to give them a special show, something they haven't seen for a few years. I'm in great shape and I'm going to surprise a lot of people with this fight.

EL: Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with Eastside Boxing.

CM: Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me.

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