Back in December of 2002, the two most well-known faces in women’s boxing at the time squared off in a crossroads bout of sorts, as Playboy cover girl Mia St. John squared off against Sports Illustrated cover girl and long respected fighter Christy Martin before a pay-per-view audience. To the surprise of many, St. John proved she could hang with a top level fighter as she boxed well but lost a wide decision. Both women have had their ups and downs professionally and personally, but still remain two of the most recognizable faces in the history of their sport. Another thing remains the same – neither seems to like the other all that much. The two meet this coming Tuesday at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, California with Martin’s WBC Light Middleweight title on the line.
Martin (49-6-3, 31 KOs) of Orlando, Florida was the heavy favorite going into their first encounter. Martin was the fighter and St. John was supposed to be the novelty act. However, by lasting the distance with Martin and winning a handful of rounds, St. John (46-11-2, 18 KOs) of Oxnard, California legitimized herself as a solid pro and used the showing to launch the rest of her fighting career. Fast forward to the present day and Martin seems to give little credit to St. John for how well she performed back in 2002.
“I don’t think that the [first] fight was competitive, but she did take some great shots,” says Martin. “I was convinced in my mind that I was going to knock her out with a body shot, so that’s what I did. For ten rounds I worked on her body and stayed on her body. Whether or not she had on something under her clothes, I don’t know, but that is what I tend to believe. I didn’t hear a little moan or groan from Mia when she took those body shots. I hear that from my male sparring partners, that I have good body shots. So to see no reaction from Mia, makes me wonder what she had on.”
Under armor theories aside, Martin has seemed to forget that late in their first fight, it was “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” that asked her corner who they had winning the fight, not St. John. “Clearly she knew she was not easily winning the fight,” said St. John when that moment from their first fight was brought up. “I have a style that Christy does not do well with and many fighters don’t do well with. I’m a mover and I use a lot of angles, very difficult to land a clean punch. This is why I have only been knocked down once in my career and that was by a southpaw.”
It is almost hard to believe it took nearly ten years for a promoter to put together the rematch, as Roy Englebrecht has done. Both fighters spoke as though it was a fight they have wanted to make, and one that they look forward to. “This has been ten years in the making,” St. John said. “I am excited about it. I feel like I outboxed her in the first fight. And now that I know her even better, I feel that not only will I outbox her again, but I will actually stop Christy Martin and I will retire with the WBC belt.” Martin seemed extra juiced to be coming to California for the rematch. “It has been ten years in the making,” said Martin. “I am excited to have the opportunity to beat her again and this time in front of her hometown fans.”
A theme throughout the telecast of their initial encounter was how both Martin and St. John dealt with complications relating to the promotion of their first bout and how it could have affected them on fight night. “The first time around, there were a lot of distractions with the fight being scheduled and rescheduled,” Martin recalled. “It was going to happen. Then it was not going to happen. The day before I found out I was not going to be paid and I was going to have to sue the guy. My trainer at my time was my ex-husband, who was more interested in making sure that Mia got paid than I got paid. It was a bunch of bullshit basically.”
Admittedly both fighters have dealt with their share of distractions in the lead up to Tuesday’s rematch. The fight had been scheduled for earlier in the year, but with Martin still dealing with the legal entanglements surrounding the vicious attack by her ex-husband, the fight was postponed. Meanwhile St. John dealt with the grief of losing her mother to illness. Despite the hardships, both fighters seemed to have put their issues in their proper place and focused on the task at hand.
“We both went into that first fight not being able to spar and not being able to train,” recalled St. John. “We both had distractions having to do with the promoter of the first fight. With this fight, it is no different. She’s had distractions and so have I. My mother spent all of 2011 battling lung cancer and passed away five months ago. So we both have had major distractions in our lives, but at the end of the day we are fighters and that’s what we do. It is not going to be any different. None of that stuff is going to matter once the bell rings.”
Martin gave similar sentiments relating to her issues. “This time is altogether different,” says Martin, comparing the distractions before fight one and two. “I am training in Las Vegas with Miguel Diaz, a number one quality trainer. I am getting great sparring, so I will be more than prepared and ready to go. I am 100 percent. All the injuries from being shot and stabbed were all healed before I got in the ring last year. I broke my hand in nine places, but it is all healed. The doctor released me months ago, and I am ready to try it out on Mia’s head.”
Tuesday’s fight has been billed as “Final Victory.” Both St. John and Martin have kept in the tradition of their male counterparts, having both had more than one “final fight” in their career up to this point. However, it does seem like they recognize Tuesday’s fight at the Table Mountain Casino provides them a chance to go out with a bang, so maybe this will be it for them. Maybe.
“I know that when I win, she is going to want a rubber match,” said St. John, offering a scenario that could see her return to the ring another time. “Her ego is too big to let her just say ‘Mia beat me, I’m retired.’ She won’t do that. I will be willing to give her a rubber match, but I won’t fight anybody else, so stop calling me out. That is going to be it.”
Martin left the door slightly less open to another fight beyond August 14th, “I’m 99.9 percent sure of retirement at the end of the fight, win, lose or draw,” said Martin. “I’m a fighter, so it is hard to say 100 percent that I am done. But the end is definitely very, very near.”
Tomorrow’s undercard was originally meant to feature local Fresno-area fighters from top to bottom, but some late pullouts left the promotion scrambling to piece together the supporting card. Former amateur standout Luis Villagomez of Fresno is still on the bill and will take on Manuel Ortega (1-4) of Seattle, Washington in a four-round super featherweight bout. Yoshi Fuji (2-3-1, 2 KOs) of Fresno will end a five-year layoff against Jose Garcia (0-2) of Santa Ana, California in a four-round lightweight bout. Aaron Acevedo (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Moreno Valley, California will take on Angel Torres (2-10-2, 1 KO) of Yonkers, New York in a four-round lightweight bout. Rounding out the card, David Barragan (1-0-1, 1 KO) of National City, California will take on Beau Hamilton (0-2) of Montague, California in a four-round light middleweight fight.
Tickets for the event, promoted by Roy Englebrecht Events, are available online at Tmcasino.com.
