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EPISODE: Episode 1
In this awe-inspiring episode of “No Punches Pulled With No Mercy” on Talkin Fight Channel, join our intrepid host Brooke “No Mercy” Dierdorff-Millbrook as she sits down for a live and exclusive interview with the boxing icon, Christy Martin. Prepare to be captivated by the incredible story of a true trailblazer, whose indomitable spirit shattered barriers and blazed a path for female fighters worldwide.
From grueling battles in the ring to surviving the unthinkable outside of it, Christy’s journey is one of resilience and strength. Hear firsthand accounts of her triumphs and challenges, including overcoming a harrowing ordeal involving her former trainer and husband. Witness how she defied the male-dominated sport and catapulted women’s boxing into the global spotlight.
Christy’s fighting spirit didn’t end with her boxing career—discover how she continues to inspire and uplift countless aspiring fighters through her books, stories, and ownership of Christy Martin Promotions. As a mentor, promoter, and role model, she’s nurturing the next generation of boxing stars.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear from the living legend herself. Join us for an unforgettable episode that will leave you inspired and moved by the extraordinary life and legacy of Christy Martin. Subscribe now to witness this exclusive interview and delve into the world of a true icon in the sport of boxing.
Transcribed
Hey hey: what’s up everybody, it’s your girl, no mercy here, it’s Tuesday night! So you already know what time it is it’s time for no punches pulled with no mercy.
Some of you probably already know who I am for those of you that are new.
My name is Brooke Millbrook, Formerly Known in the fight game as Brooke no mercy deardorff.
I am a retired professional boxer held the WBC lightweight title until I retired and was inducted into the international women’s Boxing Hall of Fame.
In 2022.
, I’ve been through some good, some bad and, of course, a lot of BS in the sport of women’s boxing.
But this is my platform where we talk to talk and walk the walk.
We bring out the truth in women’s boxing we’re going to talk to Pioneers past boxers current boxers, even future boxers, but we get down and dirty speaking, the truth of what takes place behind the scenes in women’s boxing.
You don’t want to miss a single show.
So please make sure you guys like subscribe and you share.
You don’t want to miss a Tuesday night here with me and all the amazing guests we have on the show.
But tonight we have a very special guest in the house.
It’S the legend of women’s boxing in the building Christy Martin Christy, shattered barriers and blazed a path for all female Fighters worldwide.
Her journey is one of resilience and strength from her grueling battles in the ring to her surviving the unthinkable battles outside the ring.
She is the most successful prominent female boxer in the world and one who legitimized women’s participation in the sport for all of us female boxers.
She started her pro career at the age of 21 in 1989.
She was in the fight that Crea, for that was known for putting women’s boxing on the sports fan radar that took place on March 16, 1996 against Deirdre gogarty.
That fight was a war and a big bloodbath.
As everybody remembers, she was the first female boxer to appear on the cover of Sports, Illustrated.
She also was the first woman to sign with the with the famous Don King.
She faced the best fighters in her era.
She had to fight on the undercards of Mike Tyson Evander Holyfield Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez.
She was also the first female boxer inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016 and among the first females ever to be inducted into the international Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020, making that her sixth induction into different hall of fames.
But please welcome the truth.
The Coal Miner’s Daughter Christy Martin, to the show thanks for having me.
Yes, thank you for coming, I’m so honored.
To finally have you on the show um.
I know you’re super busy.
So I appreciate you finding time.
Yeah we’ve been, we’ve been trying to make it happen for a minute.
I know you know we have been um.
It seems, like everything happens at once, right, a lot of fights happening, um, a lot of domestic violence events, so yeah right here, we are before Nashville we’re coming week before Nashville.
So, yes, we’ll see you again next Tuesday um in flesh, so that’ll be nice.
I will be there for that: one um, but so starting off first, I know take us back to like the beginning, your childhood a little bit um growing up in West Virginia.
I know you’ve spoken about things that you had to go through as a very young child that you shouldn’t have to go through um.
Can you take us back and kind of just start us from the beginning? Hey.
You know I’m from uh.
I am truly a coal miner’s daughter from a very small town in southern West.
Virginia um grew up just playing sports and I have all boy cousins.
So I I was out there.
You know playing football and basketball baseball, whatever they were doing, I’m the oldest, but still was kind of like involved with whatever the boys were doing and um just competitive.
My dad was an athlete, so I I just learned growing up to be the best that you can be and, and you have to work hard, you know work hard to make anything happen.
Yeah yeah, absolutely I know yeah.
I grew up with two older brothers um and obviously I was the youngest, but I was the only girl, so my mom didn’t get the little girl that wore the bows and the dresses and all that she had a little.
I was a little tomboy then, because I had Brothers I did whatever they did.
I didn’t I just wanted to play with them so yeah, but yeah sports sports.
That’S really all it was um.
You briefly spoke about um when you were young or some things that you went through when you were six um with a family member of yours.
I don’t want you don’t have to like go too deeply into it, but I know that it helps some other Fighters.
Have talked about stuff like that, and people have reached out how that stories has helped them um deal and cope with things.
Can you kind of touch a little bit on some stuff that you had to go through at that age? Yeah? It’S just crazy! Um, like a cousin that was from North Carolina, you know I’m living in West Virginia.
I came to to spend a few days at my house and um and just sexually abused me and um at that time.
I just from that time until, like four days before the trial with Jim Martin, I didn’t tell it.
I never told my parents, but I know that Jim Martin was kind of crazy and I was afraid he might say something in the trial.
So that’s when I told my mom and dad um, I just kept it in.
There were very few close people that knew um, Jim Martin being one of them, but it was it’s just trying to imagine you know when you see a six-year-old person, uh walking around or playing that somebody would sexually molest this child yeah.
Somebody at that age, yeah and, what’s really sad to me, is um, I would say almost half of the people I’ve interviewed have had that happen.
Yeah people just don’t think I I don’t know if they just don’t think it happens or they don’t think it happens.
To anyone they know yeah or or they just don’t want to think about it, so they kind of just oh kind of like sweep it under the rug like it’s, not real right yeah, you know like this would never happen to my child, or this would never Happen in my family um, but it does yeah absolutely it does, and it’s just so sad listening to the girls stories, there’s several of them um that have had that happen, and it’s it’s just.
It’S really Unthinkable to me um that someone could even think to do that.
Let alone process it I don’t know but um.
It does help a lot of people hearing people that have gotten through it so um.
You know.
I appreciate you kind of speaking out a little bit, but after that doing the sports and all that in high school and everything what actually LED you to the sport of boxing.
You know I this is kind of crazy because um I was always an athlete.
I’Ve always always played basketball, um baseball whatever, and and for whatever reason I thought entering the tough man contest was a good idea, I’m in college and I’m thinking um, it’s just something I wanted to do yeah, and I have no explanation of why I wanted to Do it um, but I I had told the promoter a couple times come on.
You should have women, you should have women and of course they didn’t.
Yes.
In the year I walk by the by the store and there’s a poster first year.
Women added to you know the tough man contest and I might decide just to sign up and ready to go um again.
I really have no explanation of why I thought this was a great idea, but I loved it.
I I didn’t know I was gon na love it, but um.
When I entered into the tournament and was fortunate enough.
The first couple fights were really were tough.
The first fight was tough, no Knockouts, no nothing.
It was really it’s kind of close and um.
I was able to win the next night.
I knocked somebody out and like a big girl, she was big.
She was like five, seven, five, eight and big strong, and oh my God like that.
Just hooked me there was nothing better to than this feeling I mean.
There’S no better drug there’s, no better anything! No! That’S that great feeling of a knockout yeah it just it just hooked me yeah couldn’t wait for the next year, so I can do it again right and that’s funny.
It’S because I started kind of similar because I was in.
I was in the Army um right after high school, but I went.
There was a bar that I worked at like part-time, but they had fight nights there, not really like fight nights but like they had a ring like once a week, and literally anybody in the bar could sign a waiver and fight anybody in the bar.
So it was kind of it really was ridiculous if you think about it, but after like watching several of them, I’m like well, I could do that right, and so I was like yeah.
I think I’m gon na do that and if you’re like? No, no, that’s how I started is I started doing the fights at the at the bar.
I just signed a waiver and fight whoever in there and wanted to fight, and so that’s how I started then I started training after, but not necessarily the tough man contest, but something similar I was just like.
I could do that that looks fun, um I’ll fight that girl over there right right.
I mean it’s crazy, but it’s it and it really is the same thing.
A toughman contest is just people off the street.
You know just go in there and see who who they, you know who’s the toughest who it is yeah.
I had never been boxing gym.
I had never.
I had, of course watched boxing on TV, but yeah never been in a gym.
Never thought about boxing was like Gon na, Be My Career, my life and right and like never in my wildest dreams.
Yeah! That’S that’s awesome, though.
I love that um.
Well, what was your first experience walking into a boxing gym like I, I’m very sure you were the only female in the gym at that time.
What was that experience like walking in a gym back then yeah? So my my actually the first boxing gym, I’m trying to think so.
I tell the truth.
The first boxing gym I was in was was in Bristol Tennessee when I went in at the promoter had called me and asked me to come down.
They wanted me to to move down there and be trained.
He had this trainer that that was excited about training me and by this time I’ve already had like six or seven profits still never been in a boxing gym.
Now tell me how crazy that is, um.
So it was Jim Martin was, was the trainer and and I walked in the gym and yeah.
He definitely didn’t want me to be in there and then everybody, it’s all guys in there uh.
So I was a little out of place and also you could feel you know.
You know when you’re someplace you’re not wanted, and I was definitely some place.
I wasn’t wanted yeah yeah, um and – and I mean I don’t think that happens too much anymore now, but yeah back then that’s how it always was.
You just had that Eerie feeling of them just want to do whatever they could to get you out of there.
Absolutely like you didn’t belong for sure, um shortly after that.
Well, actually you were already pro at the time, but you turned Pro in 1989 at the age of 21.
um.
What made you decide after the tough man contest that you wanted to go pro again.
It was one of those things that called me.
They offered me a fight and um.
I thought the truth very truth is I thought this would be a great story someday to maybe tell my children, or you know, still at a party or whatever um, that I had a pro fight again.
Never dreaming that I would have a real career right, so I thought I’ll go down I’ll.
Do this once I went down to Bristol Tennessee, fought the promoters girl and beat the crap out of her knocked her down, and still it was a draw in a four-round fight yeah.
So I thought well, this isn’t a very good ending like it’s.
It’S not a really good story, because I didn’t win, I didn’t lose.
It was a draw yeah so back the next month and had a rematch with her in Johnson City, Tennessee and and knocked her out and again that Feeling Again of a this was a real knockout and so yeah I was.
I was definitely at this point: hooked, yeah, yeah again not in a boxing gym, but I would run a little extra.
I was playing basketball in college, but I would run a little extra.
I actually put a heavy bag in my apartment and just tried to watch fights, and then I would see what Fighters how they moved and how they threw the punches and try to mimic that same movement yeah on the heavy bag.
So just self-taught.
I was trying to teach myself, I don’t.
I don’t think I did a very good job videos and see what we can learn yeah.
I was trying yeah uh last belt box and said: do you agree us here in the UK? Are Trailblazers in terms of female boxing um, what a great job Eddie Hearn has done in launching Katie Taylor’s career and gaining females big purses, I think Eddie Hearn has done a good job with getting getting females exposure and getting um getting them better purses.
I mean absolutely I mean Eddie Hearn is building some from female Fighters and – and you know what love him or hate him – Jake Paul’s doing a wonderful thing for some Fighters careers as well um, because so many people tune in to see Jake Paul he’s able to Generate so much money, he can pay other Fighters that are actually putting in hard work and have amateur careers and and have kind of paid their dues of the sport he’s able to pay them, and you know that’s a a marvelous thing.
Actually, I have a young fighter that will be fighting on a Jake Paul promotion August 18th on the Zone from Orlando uh nice to be the co-feature Benny Aguilera uh, I’m you know we’re excited and happy for the opportunity.
Yeah yeah, I mean yeah, like you, said, love them or hate them, but he is doing things and and for women’s boxing too I mean he really is um.
They wouldn’t I mean Amanda Serrano wouldn’t have made.
A million dollar person was for Jake Paul, absolutely period.
I mean that’s really all there is to say about it, so I mean he’s he’s helping he’s helping yeah, but so you had, but speaking of you, you had so many great fights and Knockouts before becoming the first female ever to sign with Don King in 1993.
.
Um tell us how you got connected with Don and what what was it like working with him? Was he what everybody says that he is or was that just all talk um? So I got hooked up with Don King by Jesse Robinson, who was a trainer for King at the time, and we just you know, happened to both be in Daytona.
Jesse came into a gym, I was sparring and he actually thought I was a guy.
I had my I had long hair at the time and my hair was up under my headgear and um.
Yes, they said no, that’s Christy and so he’s like what and and you know, then we just started to build a relationship and he that, like that day or the next day, he said I’m going to take you to Don King.
Remember I’m from Southern West Virginia.
I mean small town and um.
You know took some time I actually before I went to meet with Don King.
I had gone up and fought at the palace for Jackie Callan and it was a little talking back and forth with Jackie about maybe signing with her within the call came from Don King, and I mean it’s Don King, it’s Don King, it’s Don King, so I Went down, I met with them and you know just scared to death.
I I’m sitting across the table from Don King he’s he’s not only the biggest person in boxing at the time, but I mean he’s just a huge personality: everybody in in all walks of life.
At that time knew Don King yeah um, so it was very overwhelming and uh, but I had a great ride with them.
I definitely got to fight on awesome cards.
See lots of the world on Don King’s dime meet a lot of great people.
Do a lot of media a lot of fantastic things yeah because of my boxing career and Don King yeah.
Actually, I still work with him today he’s like 92 years old, and I still help him out sometimes with some of the shows um, I’m actually getting ready to try to sign a 14-0 uh cruising weight with him.
So nice we’ll see if that works out.
So so he’s he’s really a good guy.
Like he’s not like bad, like everybody says you know I um or it’s it’s 50.
50.
.
I I think that you just have to be upfront with them.
You know yeah part of him.
I think what if his energy is, he he likes the part of the the negotiation, the part of the hustle, the part of the you know if he can get over on you a little bit of course he’s going to.
But that’s like that’s everybody.
That’S everybody.
In the boxing World, especially yeah um, so you just have to kind of watch your p’s and q’s and be yeah.
You know your game, I I don’t.
I don’t have any problems or doubts with him if he says he’s gon na pay me he just you know, pay me to run a show a couple years ago and and even Lisa said: don’t you think you need a contract or something I’m like? No it’s Don King, I mean, I know you guys have that relationship.
Now, where I mean you’ve, he’s earned your trust and you’ve read the trust.
So I mean you just got ta yeah.
If you’re honest with someone and you’re in their trust, then you know you got a good relationship um.
I do think, though it it sucks a lot that it took the fight between you and dear Deidre guard Deidre gogerty in 96, at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
For women’s boxing and you to become a media star um, you had done so much up to that point, um that they it took the bloodbath and the all that to happen for them.
To really like give you the exposure um, you did when one unanimous decision, even though you were the one bleeding and everybody talked about the blood and everything.
But can you tell us a little bit about the fight? I did interview, I’m sure you saw the clip because I saw you liked it um Deidra, talking about that a few weeks ago, but you tell us your thoughts on the fight, the outcome after and all the media attention and just what was that fight? Like you know, it was just crazy.
It was a great fight.
Deer to gogety is a tough ass and um.
You know, I I pretty much think we’re friends, I hope.
Oh yeah.
She had nothing but good to say about yeah.
I uh.
I have so much respect for her and so and love for her.
I hope, uh yeah.
I hope everything positive is happening in our life that that night changed the world.
You know just changed the world of women’s boxing and the way that people saw women’s boxing and the fact that wow these women can fight yeah.
And I remember so many stories of like the big actors and rappers and this and that back in the green room and and when the fight was we first came into the ring, like the guys, were all walking to the back and they’re getting drinks and they’re.
Not paying attention, and then they said by like round number two they’re pushing the women out of the way, because the women were kind of watching any of these are women.
You know they’re more interested, um and then they’re getting pushed to the back by the second round and like we just we just hit it.
You know it was just everybody Tunes in that night to see all around the world tune in to see Mike Tyson and uh.
We gave him a one hell of a show, so they they took, you know, stood up and took notice of women fights yeah um.
It was a it was a crazy.
It was a crazy ride after that, and it’s really been a crazy ride ever since yeah.
Well, and I mean you outshined the main event with Mike Tyson.
That night I I mean, I think your fight was got a little bit more exposure than his at the time, not to take anything away from him because he’s one of Grace of all time um.
What was it like fighting with Mike on Mike’s cards? What’S he like, you know what the whole funny thing about.
It is at any point at any point in my career Mike Tyson gon na stopped it, but he was supportive and he’s, like somebody said to him after the go-gety fight on the car with Bruno Christy stole the show for me Mike and he’s he’s like go.
You know, I don’t care, I’m glad for her and she deserved it so uh he was just supportive he’s still supportive.
He was on the Netflix documentary yeah.
Recently um.
You know we see him at the big fights in Vegas um.
Thank goodness I mean that was a lot of fun, but that was it was different.
I mean now when I go to Vegas, and maybe it’s because I’m not fighting, but you walk through the casinos big fights happening and, and you don’t have that same kind of energy yeah Tyson brought energy like it was just a buzz like yeah.
You landed in Las Vegas, like 10.
You know 10 days out.
This is buzzing and everybody’s talking about Tyson fight, Tyson fight, um yeah, it was this, is it was different.
Yeah well – and I mean boxing – was not that boxing’s like dead or anything, but it was way more at the peak than like everybody watched boxing um, but everybody was Mike Tyson.
You didn’t have to be a fight, fan yeah to be interested to see Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield um.
You know Linux Lewis, there was Chavez.
In fact them were just so good yeah like they were, so they were all like dog fights.
That’S the the big difference.
I think they were just so more much more action-packed and entertaining like you knew some nine times out of ten somebody was gon na get knocked out or knocked down that now yeah.
It’S just not something you see.
Often it’s more um.
I don’t know they box more now.
Instead, we’ll just say that first, the safety person – yes real fight, game, yeah, it’s not the same as it was back.
Then I don’t think but um after that fight, though you did also become the first female to appear on the cover of Sports, Illustrated 1996 issue titled.
The lady is a champ.
How did it feel to be to be on the cover of a magazine? I mean I’ve been in the paper, but I’ve been in a magazine but never on the cover.
So how was that I mean that Sports Illustrated and yeah.
If you’re, like you know my age Sports Illustrated, are you kidding me yeah? It was uh, they called me like three weeks before was gon na, come out and told me that if no one died or nothing crazy happened um I was gon na get the cover, and so I like every morning, I’m watching ESPN SportsCenter.
You know.
Reading the newspaper always keeping an eye on what’s happening in the Sports World, um yeah, it was really exciting.
I I I don’t even have words for that.
One yeah, oh it’s Force Illustrated, and it was the cover.
I mean it wasn’t just an article.
It was the governor right, I’m so phenomenal.
Um last vote boxing also says: isn’t it a shame that Clarissa Shields has to come to the UK for a big payday? Have American fight fans bought into female boxing? Have American promoters got more? You do to promote female fighting in the states, uh yeah.
Well, I think it’s.
I think it’s a shame that we have to go over and it’s been that way for as long as I can remember, even when I was fighting, I always wanted to fight overseas.
The girls that had the belts over there, because that’s where them not that there was a lot of money, but that’s where more money was.
It’S always been that way like they always get paid more overseas right.
Well, I think you know um yeah, I mean Eddie Harris over there doing big shows um they’re getting yes, yes, there’s more interest overseas than in the United States, and I think it’s just you know it’s our sports fans number one boxing as a whole has has Slid yeah men’s boxing also, I don’t think we don’t have the viewership that we did um and this United States just hasn’t bought into women’s boxing yet uh Mexico.
Remember, I mean Mexico all the machismo these are.
These are the great Mexican Warriors yeah they’re, now putting women on as main events in Mexico.
They do that would to me that would be like the last place.
You would expect.
That’S not would be supporting women’s boxing but they’re supporting boxing they’re supporting periods going out there and and putting on good fights so they’re they’re being rewarded with that yeah um yeah.
I don’t.
I don’t know about the rest of the club.
I don’t know about our country when, when or if women’s boxing will ever be like, take it seriously yeah.
I agree with that, but speaking of the Mexico, I was nervous, my second fight with Mia St John, when we had the rematch when she wanted the rematch in Mexico.
I was nervous to go to Mexico because boxing was so big in Mexico and me being the Challenger coming in her defending champion, and I knew she had a really good relationship with WBC, with the Suleiman and all and out, and so I was nervous going there.
But I have always said and we’ll say to the day I die my best experience as a fighter was when I went to Mexico, I mean was there for 10, like 10 10 days out, we had to do you know the public weigh-ins and the pre-fight weigh-ins And all the interviews and the public workouts and all we – I never did any of that here like ever so it was nice, the exposure that we got over there not to mention, even though I was the Challenger coming in, I couldn’t go anywhere without people like Everybody knew who I was, I could go anywhere in the states and maybe have a handful of people walk up to me and know who I was like.
It wasn’t common that people knew even when I was in my Prime, like people unless they were from my town and knew I was fighting.
Most people didn’t recognize me, but they’re everybody like you, couldn’t leave the hotel room.
You couldn’t walk out of your room without people stabbing you for pictures and autographs, you couldn’t go eat like I felt like.
I know what celebrities feel like when they go out and then people are like bomb rushing them because that’s how it was – and I was the opponent so I loved fighting in Mexico and they treat everybody fairly.
There I mean I we were the co-main event um.
Actually it’s right: there Edgar Sosa was the main event.
The Poster’s right over there um Edgar Sosa was the main event, but yeah I loved fighting Mexico.
They treat everybody awesome over there right and the whole funny thing is um.
I was supposed to fight in Mexico and um 1996.
I think it was.
It was the Chavez uh Miguel Angel, Gonzalez fight and uh at that particular time.
The country of Mexico would not allow women boxing, oh wow, so, and that was easy.
That was even after the goggerty fight and everything.
So King was going to put me on uh, you know in for Mexico and then no it was no and it was like, but they would not.
Let allow it to happen.
That’S crazy and Lion.
King was at the fight.
When I fought me, I didn’t get to talk to him.
I didn’t get to meet him, but he was there because I remember when I sat down because my husband couldn’t go with me.
So I had Chevelle Hall back and Nate Campbell went with me to the fight and Nate.
Was there like before the fight night, because she all couldn’t come out the whole time.
So Nate came out and he like worked out with me and did all that until Chevelle came like a day or so before the fight, and then she cornered me, but I remember going back, I don’t know it was like round three or something sitting down and I like was looking into the audience and he was like second or third row.
You can’t miss him, I mean you can’t miss him um, but yeah.
I thought that was awesome, so he actually watched me fight once I didn’t get to talk to him right, but maybe he would maybe maybe he would recognize me since he saw me in person and I won so yeah in Mexico, so that was that was a Plus right um but yeah, that’s surprising, they didn’t allow it over there yeah, but I mean it was back in the 90s.
It was.
It was a long time ago and women’s boxing had just I mean we just had the go-gritty fight, so women’s boxing was really kind of starting to kick way way.
Young, yes, yeah.
I mean um.
Of course, there are many many before me that have been doing it for a long time, but we were just like getting it to that next level and it was still still in that yeah.
You were just lucky enough to be the.
There were many many before you, yes, um and I’ve interviewed several of them um, but the you were the one that kind of Hit the fireworks where it kind of exploded, and it got a little bit of exposure.
Nobody else really got any exposure prior to you.
I was in the right place at the right time and given the opportunity was ready, ready to go yeah ready to go yeah um, another interesting one that I have to ask you about.
Um, that I always you know I always ponder about.
It is the fight with Laila Ali 2003.
I need to know how much did you really weigh when you fought in that way? 159 pounds? No, I left my hotel room weighing 147 yeah and then I put on some uh some boots and stuff and yeah.
You probably put some weight in your pockets: Army, fatigues, total Army fatigues, and I had a couple couple little stuff in my pocket and we we bumped it up.
There too.
I think it was 15 minutes, something like that.
So yeah so she’s, officially weighed in at 162.
, you reportedly weighed in at 159 um, which I knew was, and I’ve always looked back at that fight and I’m like well.
She probably outweighed her literally by 30 plus pounds by the time Fight Night came um.
Tell us about the fight, though, do you believe that, had you been the same size as her would have been a different fight if there wasn’t a significant weight difference? I know there was a lot of bad blood between you.
You guys got into it at the weigh-ins, it’s funny, because I was just actually talking to a friend of mine um this morning about Layla and um.
I I think Layla and I were both in a bad situation.
We were in bad relationships, we were we had.
We were just we were probably both angry, just a different kind of angry.
You know pissed off at everything, yeah and we were able to take it out on each other for a minute.
As far as the promotion for the fight plus, I mean we had to sell it, we had to sell a fight, you know um, so the Bad Blood yeah.
I think it was some bad blood, of course, because we both said things that were pretty nasty um, but now we’re we’re good yeah.
I talked to her.
She helped me out with that.
I was doing a thing for Chrissy’s Champs and she donated a assigned Bill and and some spices and stuff that she does yeah her little spices and stuff yeah.
Well, um.
You know the fight she’s, a big woman yeah.
That’S why, when I, when I saw that you were fighting – and I knew you didn’t – weigh 150 because I’m a fighter I mean some people probably were like oh 159, yeah yeah.
I knew you didn’t weighed 150 59 pounds um, but I mean she’s way, bigger what I mean.
What why did that fight even happen? I’M trying to tell you this is the fighter in me because, and I believe it until today um.
I really thought I’m gon na hit her like she’s ever been hit before yeah and my project power is gon na it’s gon na go it’s gon na, be okay, because she’s never been hit with some.
Somebody like me before.
That’S what I thought yeah and and the thing is she hit me – the first uh, the first fight and the first of the fight.
I thought she would jab stay on the outside.
So probably my mind was a little relaxed when the opening belt yeah.
She came right over cracked him with a really good right hand.
First, 10 or 15 seconds of the fight.
Probably the fight was over.
The fight was over.
I was done.
I was knocked out on my feet and couldn’t I thought I was walking sideways.
I could never get regain my balance totally knocked off my equilibrium and – and I just was never able to get it back together.
Yeah I took a knee the first time and thought: okay, I’m gon na be okay I’ll, get it back I’ll, get it back, and then you know I couldn’t I couldn’t and I I continued to try to fight her off and she was just too big and I just I I kept thinking, I’m walking sideways yeah.
You know I took a knee and um it’s the worst 10 seconds of my boxing career.
I don’t want to say the worst 10 seconds of my life right.
It was the worst 10 seconds of my boxing career and if I could go back and and relive that 10 seconds, I would I would rather thinking straight.
I would rather her knocked me out and they had to carry me out then to stay on the knee and basically quit yeah.
Not basically that’s what I did and I just am not a quitter but um.
Well, I wouldn’t consider it quitting.
I mean I’ve.
Had I’ve been hit in the ear drum just like you’re talking about um and when your equilibrium is off, I mean I finished the fight um too, and I still think I did pretty well considering, but one once your equilibrium is off.
Your whole body is off.
Like everything is off, and I mean I still have problems with that today, like tying my shoe, my ears will pop and bubble and I get lightheaded if I stood up too fast.
It’S never been the same, but so I don’t consider that you quit you just there.
There was no point in going back out there just to get like, maybe hurt really bad yeah yeah, but that’s what we would sign up for.
I know I mean I would have tried yeah I mean so I clearly you know I wasn’t thinking.
I wasn’t thinking clearly or I would have never stayed on that knee.
Had I been thinking clearly I would have.
I would have fought to them yeah.
So I was already I I definitely had to be a little woozy or something was going on.
I don’t know you know it just sucks it just sucks.
I was like, oh, my God and, and the thing is when I took the knee the first time her cup man, cashes green, actually got in the ring.
She should have been disqualified, yeah woman and had that happen had the referee and he’s my buddy uh.
He was at the time um Freddie, steinweiner, the third.
If he would have this disqualified or then maybe we could live to fight another day and you know something else happens and who knows yeah.
But you know that was the plan that was yeah.
I mean yeah.
Come she had to have been at 30 40 pounds heavier than you fight night.
I mean there’s, no doubt about it, there’s no doubt about it and people.
Always.
I always try to say, like I don’t care how big they are about and I’ve sparred with even men.
Obviously that are way bigger, but the way it does make a difference.
It really does make a difference, especially when they’re leaning on you and laying on you, and it makes your whole body tired, like she’s so tall, I mean she’s so tall and she’s.
What what is she? 5, 10 5 11.
yeah, six foot, yeah yeah! That’S a big reach, yeah.
Well, that was an interesting one.
Um, but 2009, though you beat um Dakota Stone.
You got your WBC super Welterweight Title um.
How did it feel to to have the WBC World title yeah? It was.
You know it was awesome.
It was great to get that opportunity.
We actually fought in Rochester New York, uh kind of sponsored by the international Boxing Hall of Fame a little bit.
You know they were involved, so I went up there and trained for like a couple weeks and um.
You know it was fun.
It was interesting, um, some of the the Hall of Famers, were there uh, it was it was.
It was great.
It was great to get the the WBC belt around hallways yeah um, because I don’t you should have had lots and lots of belts, but back then it was hard to fight for belts.
They didn’t even exist.
You know in 1996, when I started at that level.
The WBC Jose Solomon gave me an honorary WBC title, but they weren’t sanctioning women’s fights.
They weren’t.
You know ranking women.
There was.
There was no, no women’s organizations, no none at all it, but it’s okay.
You know we gave it a shot in the arm and that’s why that’s why they’re all out there today yeah true true facts, um speaking of a little bit of outside the ring stuff, can you tell us when did you so when you first met Jim, when They took you when you went to the gym for training.
Um tell us a little bit about how how did the relationship start? I know that he was very controlling abusive throughout your whole relationship and career.
Um tell us a little bit about that and the stuff that you had to go through just in everyday life, yeah, so um.
I went to Bristol Tennessee to to meet up with GM and get this training, and – and it was one of those things where I trusted him – he was a lot older than me.
I was very open with him about my life and my past, and you know I just I wanted to um and I want to learn how to box.
At this point I was like no, I want to learn how to box still not thinking that this is going to be a career.
I just I really went there thinking I’m going to do this for probably about six or seven months.
I go back to West Virginia and get a teaching teaching job because that’s what my degree is in education and um, you know that’ll be my life yeah um.
Of course that’s not the way it happened.
I end up getting into a relationship with Jim and a lot of that was getting into a relationship with him just to make everybody else.
In my life in my life and my family happy that um in a relationship with a man and um – I don’t know when things led to another.
I actually I feel like I married him, but I really married boxing yeah 100.
I mean significant age difference between the two of you yeah, and it was just all that really we did was boxing with either my career or you know, amateur team.
That was always something just around boxing, so that went on and you know he was abusive in a lot of ways like he’s my husband and my trainer, but he would make me wait three times a day like he would have to get on skills.
First thing in the morning get on skills when I left the gym, which that’s kind of normal and then before I went to bed, that’s Overkill, yeah, that’s crazy! Yeah! It was.
It was just little things.
You know he would always control who I talked to on the phone.
If, if a certain person called maybe a business type person, he would tell me what to say to them.
He would tell me how to ask them something or what you know it was never about like my thoughts, even though they were talking to me.
They were talking to you and I would tell him you know my mouth moves, but his words come out and um.
That’S that just kept on and finally as my career was over I mean I had the drug addiction and and going through all this stuff and and then my career is done, I’m just now I can go, I can get.
I can get away from him yeah throughout my career.
He said: if you ever leave me uh blackmail, you I’ll, you know I’ll, tell the world you’re gay I’ll.
I have these pictures.
I have these videos.
I have you know all this stuff, I’m going to do to you um, and then you know he had told me actually, even before I married him that if ever I leave, if ever you leave me I’ll, kill you and at 21 years old I thought that Was just that’s just you know, talk, that’s just yeah whatever and then sometime in this relationship – and I always say I don’t really know the exact moment right, but sometimes I knew this is the way it’s gon na end yeah and then, when it ended in in 2010, when I left – and he said, if you leave, if you leave, I will kill you and I told him do what you have to do Jim.
I knew that when I came back home it was going to kill me yeah and um.
You know that’s what he tried to do, yeah by the grace of God.
You know he stabbed me a bunch of times punctured.
My lung uh shot me missed my heart by three inches.
Uh cut me up.
Left me for dead.
I mean he literally left me for dead yeah, but by the grace of God, I got out of there and got it got to the hospital, and here I am today yeah um the other day, and I was when I was doing some research, not that I Didn’T already know your whole entire life history, but still like going back just like reminiscent some stuff, I watched a couple of the videos um, the one you did specifically the one to do with Teddy Atlas, where you went into like detail of the entire, like from The morning all the way, through the entire thing, to getting to the hospital and Tammy in tears, it really had me in tears, um, just terrible, terrible and the fact that you knew it was going to happen, but the fighter in you I mean there was no Point in running he it was, it had to end somehow right right.
I, and I I said you know I’m either gon na – live through or die with what he’s gon na do I mean I’m not going to run the rest of my life right and I I speak for diversity on domestic violence, awareness and it’s hard.
I have to be very careful um because I don’t want other women to think the same way right, but this is you know this is that’s a dangerous, that’s a very dangerous path to take it’s the wrong path, and right – and I mean you that was just The fighter and you like I’m gon na fight him and I’m gon na face it and I can be them or I can win or I can beat this but yeah.
Not everybody is that lucky right.
So that’s not the right choice always to tell that path, especially when you’re speaking on it but yeah and I’m sure a lot of people ask you that.
Well, it worked for you.
So maybe that, but that’s not always the case and you’re very, very lucky, being stabbed multiple times shot in the chest.
Um your legs was cut up even being able to get up to get out after sitting there.
For what like, over an hour before you even were able to get out, so that was just a once in a lifetime Miracle is what I would consider that anybody else probably would have been dead.
No, I that’s why, when I woke up in the hospital um, I said God left me here for a reason, yeah, and I really do believe that that’s true and that my that reason is to help other people and in a way that I can help other People is by talking about domestic violence and making more people aware um that domestic violence isn’t just about the bruises, because, even though my in mine ended very physical um, leading up to that it was, it was more control and yeah mental emotional abuse.
Yes, yeah yeah! Well, he was those sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Um.
Do you have to still or do you still speak to him at all, or is that completely cut off from your life? Or do you even worry like when he gets out, hopefully he’ll be dead by the time he gets out? Yeah he’ll be like 91.
I think when he you know his 25 years are up.
That’S a good thing about Florida, it’s 25 years day for day yeah.
So I I I I say often that he’ll probably live to be 91 just so that he could come out and try to kill me yeah or or you know the longer he lives.
The more that I have to fear that he’s going to get out um.
He also would tell me that if I don’t kill you I can, I will have somebody else to kill you so now I’m a little more relaxed, but for the first couple years afterwards, I was just always looking over my shoulder and and really still scared.
Yeah not that I don’t, in the back of my mind, sometimes think that I’m an easy target out here, um, because I do yeah.
I do still have that thought come through my mind.
I’M sure he had I mean.
Obviously, everybody has some kind of connections, but hopefully not none.
That would be that crazy or stupid, hopefully not yeah, but I want to answer this.
One question answer it go for it do.
Do I think that Clarissa Shields? What do you do? I do, I think about Clarissa saying she could be Keith Thurman.
The Keith Thurman will knock her out in one round.
Keith Thurman would knock her out in like 45 seconds um.
I don’t understand women that want to talk about.
I mean this is an elite fighter.
Thurman is an elite fighter.
Thurman is not some guy off the street.
That’S never boxed before there’s no way in hell that she or any other female would be Thurman.
I mean it’s just it’s just this is the facts yeah and she’s talked about.
She would knock out Triple G.
She’S talked about Baltimore.
I got this person this guy, that guy she don’t even knock out women, how the frick is she gon na knock out a man I mean I don’t know.
All I can say is Clarissa and I’m working with her promoter a little bit.
So I’m sorry I’m going off on this Dimitri, but listen.
She could knock me out like maybe today, because I’ve had a stroke and I’m brain injured, and I have all this.
I’M 55 years old, but in my time and her time oh man, easy work City, she said easy work.
I mean, I think it’s.
I don’t understand why she continues to call out men.
I really don’t and I mean a granted.
Yes, yes, if you’re an elite, female and then you’re an elite male, it’s the same thing.
We talk about every day – or at least I have been talking about lately with people with um biological males competing in women’s sports.
They need to have their own League.
Separate.
Is what they need to do? No woman and it’s a proven fact: no woman, even on the same Elite level and can have the same amount of awards all this is going to beat a male.
It’S not gon na happen because biologically they are built different and they’re just stronger across the board.
So it’s not going to happen now granted if it was some Joe blow off the street same size.
As me, guy doesn’t know how to fight yeah.
I can whoop his ass if it’s somebody who has the same kind of experience as me and is an athlete and fights for a living they’re gon na kick my ass, because they’re freaking, stronger, they’re, Stronger, Yeah, um, but same thing yeah.
I know I people are always kind of like dancing around that subject, but I do not think that biological men, I don’t care what you I have no problem with anybody being what they want to be at all.
But if you were born biologically a male, I think that they need to make their own separate League for all of those to compete against each other.
It’S not fair for them to be taken away.
Awards.
Gold medals, um, trophies and from women.
Who’Ve worked their whole life and now they can never win because they’re going against a born male.
It’S like this.
I don’t like if you want to transition.
That’S 100 for you 100! If that do what you want to do, I’m okay with it, but but listen when you make decisions in life, it could be all kinds of decisions.
Yeah right.
My decision has been to be with a woman yeah with that.
I gave up some some things yeah.
If you have a child, I mean, I know that you can adopt and all those things but to biologically have a child.
It’S not happening.
Okay, when you transition, there are things that you have to give up, yeah and – and I truly believe that competing in Sports might be one or is one of them.
You cannot, you cannot just you just can’t do it.
No.
This is not all right and that’s.
Why I say if they want to let that happen, then, like every other sport making men’s basketball, women’s basketball make a league specifically for people who transitioned that way, it’s fair there’s enough of them.
They can have their own League.
So why not? That’S just where I sit with it um and I don’t people will probably get mad at me or whatever, but it’s not fair.
It’S not fair.
Um.
Let’S see.
I know there was another question.
I missed big Justin James um about the Keith Thurman.
Then he said Christiana all the women you fought inspired.
Who do you think punched the hardest? Well, we already know the answer that they all hit hard.
Everybody everybody picked on me little Christy like I was like this short little, not so skinny, but you know it was short and uh.
Does this this Coal Miner’s Daughter from Southern West Virginia and everybody? You know everybody picked on me.
I don’t know everybody.
I would assume out of all the people you fought in the ring.
Layla probably was the hardest hitter because she was so much bigger.
She was she was.
She was strong, you know, um.
I tell you what my wife Lisa is strong.
As I mean she’s she’s strong, I can agree with that.
You know anybody that really watched my career.
You never saw me box except against Lisa, Holloway yeah and that box I never stood there and went toe-to-toe with her and I actually actually to me.
I showed a little boxing skill, a little speed, a little combinations movement.
I mean I eat my brain and not my Brawn.
That night yeah facts.
That’S facts.
Um you’ve spoken also about you.
Muchally briefly briefly mentioned it um for those of the that are watching, though, that going through similar situation becoming addicted to cocaine, um, which I believe Jim was the one feeding that to you probably to keep you under his wing or control you a little bit more.
But can you tell us a little bit how the addiction started and how you overcame it yeah it was.
It was just crazy because I have been one of those people all through my career um, I’m not gon na in my career broke and addicted to drugs, and I, in a boat and in my career on both notes, um, he brought in a baggie a Coke And and basically threw it down on the um coffee table one day you know so and so at the gym said he quit, and so he this was his his way of showing me.
He brought this coke to me and gave it to me on that and and now I know that was a whole setup thing yeah, and so I let it I actually let it sit there on the table for a day or two, and then I mean I’m Miserable I’m miserable and I’m like you know what I’m just gon na I’m just gon na go.
Do this and and then I was just oh, this is pretty good.
You know I like this High.
I like this feeling um got a little more.
I got a little more and it was just like I started Thursday.
I mean on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then I’ll be back in the gym on Monday, and then it became Friday Saturday, Sunday Monday, and then it was all the time all the time.
Every day um, I would be up for days at a time, take pills to go to sleep and then, finally, after about three years, I just I was walking through my house and looked in the mirror and was like you look like an addict and then I’m Like no, you, you don’t look like an addict.
You are an addict and at that point when it still took me a couple days, but I I got my together and and that’s when I told him I’m leaving yeah yeah um and no problems.
I mean you, you’ve, definitely overcome it and no problems with it.
So, for all of those out there listening that are addicted, you can beat it um, and I think that especially cocaine is is so much um mental addiction and I I’m pretty sure that the studies show that it’s not really physical, like some other drugs yeah, but It it definitely is, is mental and it’s it’s yeah yeah um.
Let me get back to the comments before people get mad at me.
Hold on Christy.
Your story is amazing.
I watched your documentary on Netflix glad you’re here to tell your story um, while you’re so brave, um, she’s 14-0, with two Kos, who are we talking about? Oh who’s, that talking about Clarissa, yeah, 1402 kales yeah only two Ko’s.
She talks about that.
A lot though, but then why do you say that how can you say that if you’ve not got two people and then she says, oh, if she had three minute rounds, she would knock more people out and I’ve got 31 people into it around so um and While I started I actually my first my career, I did fight three minute rounds and somewhere along the line it it transitioned into two minutes, but look if you’re gon na, if you can knock people out you’re gon na knock them out in two minutes.
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