Let's Talk – Christy Martin: Sports Illustrated Legacy, Christy's Champs, and the Fight Against Domestic Violence

Carl Lee and Lisa Otey welcome boxing legend Christy Martin back to Let's Talk for a wide-ranging conversation that spans her career, her philanthropy, and her personal journey. Martin reflects on being the only female boxer ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated — doing so twice, including a 2025 return shoot with Sydney Sweeney wearing the same trunks from 1996 — and draws a parallel between Caitlin Clark's impact on the WNBA and her own pioneering role in women's boxing. She discusses what drove her intensity in the ring, the anger she carried from years of domestic abuse, and the deal she made with God from her hospital bed. Martin also details Christy's Champs, her nonprofit that provides computers, starting-over bins, and gas cards to domestic violence survivors, including an upcoming partnership with AWAY in Raleigh County and a pet-focused fundraiser addressing why 50 percent of victims stay in abusive situations because they cannot bring their pets to shelters.