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Sydney Sweeney's Weight Transformation To Play Boxer Christy Martin

hasib

6 August 2025

Sydney Sweeney put on over 30 pounds to portray female boxer Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic, as she aims to retell the story of one of boxing’s biggest female stars.

Sweeney plays the role of Martin, who was the first female boxer to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Martin’s career played a crucial role in the rise of women’s boxing, as she became the WBC Super Welterweight Champion in 2009. To accurately portray Martin, who competed in the 147 to 168-pound range, Sweeney committed to an intense physical transformation. She revealed the dramatic weight gain, reflecting on the hard work she put into the role, including a rigorous training regimen.

Sweeney Reacts

"I loved it. I came on board to play Christy, and I had about three and a half months of training. I started eating. I weight-trained in the morning for an hour, kickboxed midday for about two hours, and then weight-trained again at night for an hour. My body was completely different. I didn’t fit in any of my clothes. I’m usually a size 23 in jeans, and I was wearing a size 27. My boobs got bigger. And my butt got huge. It was crazy! I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ But it was amazing: I was so strong, like crazy strong," Sweeney said

Martin’s career was capped off by many milestones. She became the first female fighter to be promoted by Don King, which was a massive feat given that women’s boxing was not as mainstream as it is today. Martin also became the first female to be inducted into numerous Hall of Fames. She was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016, while also being inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020.

Martin’s other achievements were being the first to become on a big PPV, as she featured on the undercards of legendary fighters such as Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez. Martin ended her career with a record of 49 wins, 7 losses, and 3 draws, with 32 of those wins coming by knockout. Now, the question is whether Sweeney can do justice to Martin’s story.