Filed under: WBA, Boxing Rumors, FanHouse Exclusive, Top Rank Promotions
Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum told FanHouse that "everything is done" in a deal reached Thursday for former world champion female boxer Christy Martin to end a 14-month ring absence by fighting on the undercard of the Ricardo Mayorga vs. Miguel Cotto pay-per-view on March 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"The deal is done. I will finish my career being promoted by the best, Bob Arum, of Top Rank. I'm very, very excited. I have the fire burning in me that was burning 20 years ago," said Martin, who was back in the gym on Monday, and who turns 43 in June.
"I want to go back out there and to prove to everybody that I can still do this," said Martin. "And to get to showcase my talents on cards like Miguel Cotto and Ricardo Mayorga, and, who knows, maybe down the road, on the undercard of a Manny Pacquiao fight, you know, it's going to be an unbelievable opportunity."
Martin last fought in September 2009, when she grounded out a 10-round, majority decision over Dakota Stone for the WBC's vacant light middleweight (154 pounds) belt.
On Nov. 23, Martin was hospitalized after being shot and stabbed in her Orange County, Fla. home. Two days later, Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman, Jim Solomons , reported that the bed-ridden Martin -- still hospitalized -- had her Apopka-area home burglarized.
On Nov. 30, it was announced that Martin's 66-year-old husband and former trainer, James Martin, was arrested in northwest Orange County as a suspect in the stabbing and shooting of his wife. James Martin was charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a weapon.
"There has been such an overwhelming the amount of love and support that I have received from the members of the boxing family. And, I'm telling you that it has truly been worldwide. I really can't put it into words how that has made me feel," said Martin.
"It has just made me feel warm and tingly inside to think that these people thought enough of me to take a few minutes out of their day to just send me a note, whether it be on facebook or an e-mail or something," said Martin. "It was just the fact that they, in some way, contacted me to let me know that they're thinking about me and that they're praying for me and that in some way that they wanted to let me know that they care about me."
Martin's case against her husband is being represented by celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who has represented everyone from Tiger Woods' alleged mistresses to the family of O.J. Simpson's slain ex-wife.
"I was back in the gym on Monday and I felt great. I worked out all this week, and I felt great. I felt better than I have ever felt, being back in the gym. I felt like I was 20 years old. It took a lot of relief off of me," said Martin.
"We're right now just discussing different opponents, but right now, I'll be in a six-rounder," said Martin. "This is just to get in there and to feel comfortable and to hopefully get an impressive knockout along the way. I am just anxious to get into the ring and to light the fire again."
Martin (49-5-3, 31 knockouts), who once graced the cover of a 1996 "Sports Illustrated," was deemed healthy enough to fight after a meeting during which she was evaluated by Top Rank Promotions CEO, Bob Arum, in his Las Vegas office on Wednesday. She will be trained by Miguel Diaz.
"I've never worked with Miguel as a trainer, but Miguel has been in my corner as a cut man since about 1994, I think. So I'm very comfortable with Miguel, and he's very familiar with me and my style. We'll just build on the things that I do well, and, hopefully, he will improve on the things that I haven't been doing well," said Martin.
"Miguel was with me probably for 15 fights, throughout all of the fights that I had on the Mike Tyson under cards, and the Julio Cesar Chavez under cards," said Martin. "Miguel was with me throughout all of that, not only as a cut man, but also, as a second. Miguel always had an input into the strategy and an input into the way that we were going to approach the fight."
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