Sydney Sweeney boxes with a legend: the famous actress muscled up to be like Christy Martin

TMZ has filmed Sydney Sweeney boxing with Christy Martin, the boxing legend about whom the famous Hollywood actress (who has changed her body to play her) is filming a biopic.

"It is not clear if this sparring will be in the film or if it was just part of a promotional session," reports the US portal.

The premiere of the biopic about Christy Martin, starring Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, Jess Gabor and Ethan Embry, is scheduled for May 2025.

Sydney Sweeney transformed her body and bulked up to play boxer Christy Martin

Actress Sydney Sweeney shared with her more than 23.4 million followers on Instagram her transformation into Christy Martin to star in the biopic about the tough life of the legendary boxer.

The 27-year-old media personality explained that "for the past few months I have been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman, a true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring."

A few months ago, Sydney Sweeney already hinted about her specific physical preparation to transform into Christy Martin: "I did wrestling and kickboxing from the age of 12 to 19. I was eager to get back in the ring, to train and transform my body. Christy's story is not exactly light, it is physically and mentally demanding, but I love to challenge myself... I feel compelled to tell the story of a woman who faced so much adversity and didn't let it defeat her."

Christy Martin, the legendary boxer who was left for dead by "the devil": abuse, drugs and attempted murder

Christy Martin, one of the greatest female boxers of all time and the great precursor of women's boxing (the first woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996), has seen her life taken to Hollywood and her role in an eagerly awaited biopic will be played by Sydney Sweeney.

Christy Martin recounted in 'Untold: Deal with the Devil', a Netflix documentary in which she reveals her "demons, abuse and threats to her life", the harsh experiences she suffered with Jim Martin.

Christy Martin (Christy Salters) was born in Mullens, West Virginia, in 1968 and made her boxing debut overcoming the reluctance of her first trainer Jim Martin, who ordered his boxers to try to break Christy's ribs, with whom he would marry years later, and take her out of the gym with punches.

She made her professional boxing debut at the age of 21 and after losing two of her first four fights, she won 34 of the next 35.

She was active from 1989 to 2012 with a record of 49 wins (31 by KO), 7 losses and 3 draws and was the first female boxer to sign with the famous promoter Don King, who dubbed her 'The Coal Miner's Daughter'.

Jim Martin, her trainer and husband, stabbed and shot her: "Blood was gushing out of the holes"

Jim Martin, trainer, manager and ex-husband of Christy Martin, had an abusive relationship with the boxer, whom he stabbed three times and shot in the chest in a brutal attack he committed on November 23, 2010 at their home in Apopka, Florida, when the fighter was welterweight champion.

"Every time I tried to get up, blood gushed out of the stab holes. And my leg, the calf, had come off the bone and was hanging there. So I lay back down. And then he shot me in the chest," Christy Martin recalls of the attack by her ex-husband.

The ex-husband, who left Christy Martin for dead as she lay bleeding on the floor, is serving time for second-degree attempted murder.

Christy Martin was sexually abused at the age of six

Christy Martin, who wrote her memoir 'Fighting for Survival: My Journey through Boxing Fame, Abuse, Murder, and Resurrection', reveals that she was sexually abused when she was six years old, became addicted to cocaine supplied by her ex-husband and makes it clear that "Jim was really evil... and every November 23 I send him a message. My husband told me for 20 years that he would kill me".

"My story is about sexuality. It's about domestic violence. It's about child sexual abuse. It's about being the underdog. I mean, I'm a coal miner's daughter. I'm from a town that's literally a mile from start to finish. The length of your street, that's my town," the boxer told 'The Guardian' in 2022.

Christy Martin married boxer Lisa Holewyne, a former rival

In 2017, Christy Martin married Lisa Holewyne, a former boxer and world champion whom she fought in 2001.

"It was never about making myself happy until I married Lisa (Holewyne)," Christy admits.