A film about boxing pioneer Christy Martin opens in German theaters on September 3. BOXSPORT has already seen the biopic “That’s Why the Lady Is a Champ.” Here’s the review.
There are quite a few notable biopics about male boxers, such as Martin Scorsese’s *Raging Bull* about Jake La Motta, Michael Mann’s *Ali* about “The Greatest,” or *Hands of Stone* about Roberto Duran. Women’s boxing has rarely made it to the big screen, and when it has, it’s usually been in purely fictional films like *Girlfight* or *Million Dollar Baby*. With *That’s Why the Lady Is a Champ*—originally titled simply *Christy* —the story of Christy Martin, a pioneer of women’s boxing, is now being told on the big screen.
Boxing Scenes Without Stunts
Lead actress Sydney Sweeney is best known for the rom-com hit *Where the Lie Falls* and the hit series *Euphoria*, but she’s always on the lookout for projects that will help her strengthen her acting resume. That’s why she co-produced *That’s Why the Lady Is a Champ* , performed her own stunts, and didn’t use a stunt double in the boxing scenes. In addition, the usually glamorous, blonde Sweeney appears here with brown-dyed hair—at first as a tomboy, and later in a ’90s style when she portrays Martin at the peak of her career.
As a biopic, *That’s Why the Lady Is a Champ* is fairly conventional: The film, directed and co-written by David Michôd, covers the key milestones in its protagonist’s career, while also condensing much of the story for dramatic effect: For example, it appears as though the protagonist began her professional career directly with a victory rather than a draw—or as though her subsequent contract with Don King led directly to the legendary fight against Deidre Gogarty, whereas in reality, Martin had already fought numerous bouts for Don King before she got her big break on the undercard of Mike Tyson’s comeback fight.
The drama is coming to a head
*That’s Why the Lady Is a Champ* doesn’t focus as much on its boxing scenes as, say, *Rocky*, *Southpaw*, or *Raging Bull*: Many fights are only briefly touched upon or shown in a montage; only the dramatically significant matches against Gogarty and Laila Ali are given more screen time. Instead, Michôd focuses more on Christy Martin as a private individual, born Christy Renea Salters. Even as a teenager, she was aware of her homosexuality, which was frowned upon in her hometown in rural West Virginia.
At the age of 22, the boxer marries her coach Jim Martin (Ben Foster)—who is more than twice her age—more out of embarrassment and helplessness than anything else when he proposes to her. *That’s Why the Lady Is a Champ* is first and foremost the story of her marriage to her domineering, controlling coach-husband, who establishes a position of power even though it is actually his wife who performs in the ring, earns the fame, and brings home the money. The biopic builds the drama to a fever pitch, culminating in a fatal conflict that ends in an attempted murder in 2010.
A Great View
That’s Why She’s a Champ It draws on the dramatic true story of a pioneering female boxer who still flies somewhat under the radar in the public eye, in contrast to other scandalous stories from the world of boxing. And it thrives on the performances of its lead actors, Sweeney and Foster, who bring the necessary intensity to this story of control, self-denial, and self-destruction. That’s Why She’s a Champ is conventional and, in terms of staging, less expressive than, for example, Like a wild bull or Creed – Rocky’s Legacy, but it offers a fascinating look at a female boxing hero who, along with Lucia Rijker and Barbara Buttrick, became the first woman to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020.
Text: Nils Bothmann