Survivor brings harrowing story to Mt. Carmel

“I’m not a victim,” Martin said. “I’m a survivor.”

Martin visited Mt. Carmel through the help of WINGS/A New Direction, a non-profit that provides services for victims of domestic abuse.

In a powerful presentation that drew hearty rounds of applause from the all-male student body, Martin detailed how, in November 2010, her husband and trainer, Jim Martin, stabbed her and then shot her.

Somehow, she survived—and while the man was showering, Martin escaped their home and flagged down help.

In 2012, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The survivor went on to champion the cause, and she recently authored “Fighting for Survival: My Journey through Boxing Fame, Abuse, Murder, and Resurrection.”

Ron Borges, a sportswriter who has written for several American newspapers, co-authored the book.

Martin has visited numerous schools and jails telling her story. However, she said, talking to Mt. Carmel students was special.

“I think it is the most important group I’ve spoken to,” Martin said, “because it is young men who are either going to break the cycle or continue the cycle. And so, if we can have them understand breaking the cycle, I think our chances are better.”

Martin, of West Virginia, became a boxing star in the late 1980s, during college.

Making her way into the professional ranks, she finished her career with 49 wins, seven losses and three draws; 31 wins came by knockout.

She appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1996, and she was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020.

However, throughout her career, she was in an abusive relationship, she said. Her spouse watched her every move, and he often threatened her with remarks such as “If ever you leave me, I will kill you.”

On one occasion, she said, she visited a beauty salon to have her nails done. Her abuser followed her, sat next to her and then told her that he could do her nails for her—she didn’t need to visit a salon anymore.

For the abusive husband, Martin said, their relationship was about one thing: control.

“He did not want me be around any other person,” Martin said, “besides himself.”

The abusive husband is still in prison today, and when asked what her one question to him would be, Martin’s response was harrowing.

“What were you going to do with my body?”

Martin’s visit was arranged through the close relationship between A New Direction, which was founded in Beverly/Morgan Park and merged with WINGS in July, and Mt. Carmel.

Tim Baffoe, an English teacher at Mt. Carmel, assigns his students lessons that include domestic-violence awareness. Students have read “Breathing Underwater,” a novel in which the narrator is an abuser.

He is proud of how young men react to learning about such sensitive issues.

“My students respond very well to it, despite the difficult subject matter,” he said. “By the time it’s over, young men have a very different perspective on the issue. It’s really cool that Christy’s timeline matched up with our timeline and to be able to have her here.”

Mt. Carmel students wore T-shirts with various statistics about domestic violence, and Baffoe said they have watched a documentary about Martin and “can’t stop talking about it.”

Given another chance to describe herself, Martin used another powerful word. Her abuser nearly killed her—but instead, she is stronger than ever.

“I can tell you I’m bulletproof, right?” Martin said. “He tried, but it wouldn’t work. And, I really believe that God had a plan for me.”