Sydney Sweeney Getting In Shape For Role As Legendary Boxer Christy Martin!

After her Winter box office hit Anyone But You and Spring horror Immaculate, Sydney Sweeney has shared her plans on keeping booked and busy through every season with the announcement of her newest project: a boxing biopic about Christy Martin. 

The as-yet untitled project was announced earlier this month, soon followed by announcements from Sweeney herself and the production crew involved in the project’s development. As of this week, Sweeney is the only actor tied to the project -- set to star as Christy Martin herself. As well as her acting credit, Sweeney will be taking on a producer role through her production company Fifty Fifty films, which previously distributed Sweeney’s Anyone But You and produced Immaculate. Black Bear Pictures will be financing the new biopic. This film will mark the second collaboration between Black Bear Pictures and Sydney Sweeney. The studio and the actress previously worked together on her horror project Immaculate, which came out in March of this year. 

In an interview with Deadline, Sweeney revealed a shared interest between the actress and her character counterpart, saying, “I grappled and did kickboxing from 12-19 years old. I’ve been itching to get back into the ring, train, and transform my body.” Proof of Sweeney’s dedication to the physicality of the sport shines through with an old instagram post that has resurfaced following the biopic’s announcement featuring the actress sparing. 

Sweeney continued on to marvel at Christy’s story, adding, “Christy’s story isn’t a light one; it’s physically and emotionally demanding, there’s a lot of weight to carry. But I love challenging myself.”

Director David Michôd (The King) found inspiration in Christy when searching for his next project. He told Deadline, “I have a history of making movies about damaged men, and I’d been wanting to make a film about a woman with a ferocious energy inside her. When I came across the Christy Martin story two years ago, I knew I’d found it. Her ferocity is intelligible and justifiable, and audiences will crave it because of the circumstances she was forced to endure.” 

Christy Martin’s "ferocity" certainly is something to admire. She started boxing when she was just 21 years old and achieved great success in her career. By the time she had retired from boxing in 2012, she had accumulated 49 wins, 31 knockouts, and 6 hall of fame inductions. She holds the title of most knockouts in a career. Martin’s boxing legacy left such an impact on the women’s boxing world that, to this day, she is the only female boxer to have landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Producer Kerry Roberts commented on Christy’s story and boxing career in a conversation with Deadline, saying, “David and I have been saying this is a female Rocky.”

Michôd discussed the story that will be told in the film, hinting that the project will not encompass Christy’s life as a whole but rather focus on her life in the '90s. Michôd notes that the project will shed light on the boxer’s conservative upbringing and queer identity in complement to her career within the ring. Michôd identifies Martin’s boxing as a “as a vehicle to express herself and her rage.” Martin herself remarked in an ESPN article from 2020 that she did turn to her rage growing up and that she was an “aggressive kid”.

Raised in Itmann, West Virginia, Martin felt a disconnect between who she was and her traditional upbringing. This translated into her love for sports and athleticism. Growing up, she was the only girl on her hometown’s Little League baseball team and even played for the boys’ basketball team in elementary and middle school. Martin continued her passion for sports up through high school and college, playing basketball.

Then, in 1987, Martin made a decision that would change her life forever. A "toughman" competition was advertised in her home state, and Martin chose to sign up. To her surprise, she won. After that competition, Martin boxed until she retired in 2012. In 2017, Martin married Lisa Holewyne, a former foe of hers. Then, in 2020, Martin opened her own boxing promotion company to advocate for and represent boxers. 

The film is currently in pre-production and has no released date as of yet. Stay tuned!