Boxing’s Greats of the States | West Virginia: Christy Martin

Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it.

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Gina Carano, Ronda Rousey, Layla Ali and Holly Holm are all credited for the current boom in women’s combat sports, but Christy Martin played as big a role as anyone.

One of the hardest-punching women ever to compete in boxing, Martin exploded onto the stage with a string of highlight-reel knockouts. The Mullens, West Virginia, native became such a phenom in the 1990s that she was routinely featured on pay-per-view events fronted by Mike Tyson, Felix Trinidad and Evander Holyfield. During her heyday, fans could not get enough of “The Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Though Martin captured the WBC super welterweight championship late in her career, it should be noted that titles were not available to women when she was in her prime.

Martin retired in 2012 with a 49-7-3 record and 31 knockouts. She failed in two attempts to secure 50 professional victories, falling to Dakota Stone and Mia St. John -- two women over whom she already held wins -- in consecutive appearances.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Tunney Hunsaker