It's late November in a secluded neighborhood. Darkness enshrouds a ranch-style house set among thick palm trees that further obscure the home. The roaring wind muffles all sound A trained fighter named Christy Martin sits on the edge of her bed, preparing to go out jogging Then she looks up.

Swish! The razor-sharp, 9-inch-long blade of a hunting knife plunges into her upper body. Then comes a second stab. And a third. For Martin, it's pain, disbelief, tissue damage and bloodsoaked clothes.

The attacker's next slash hits her left breast Now it's personal Martin leans back and instinctively kicks at him, but that just gives him another target He seizes the opportunity and slashes her lower leg

They wrestle to the ground, and he continues his assault, leaving multiple lacerations on her head. He pulls from his pocket a pink 9 mm - the handgun Martin had kept under her mattress.

She tries to disarm him, but she's too weak He retaliates by pistolwhipping her. Badly beaten, she's still defiant. She screams, "You cannot kill me"

The assailant shoots, and the bullet stops inches from her heart. One lung is punctured, and it fills with blood. For some reason, Martin fixes her eyes on an air-conditioning vent, then starts to pray. The man watches her for 30 minutes Believing that she's dead, he leaves the room. But she's not. When she hears the shower running, it's her cue to escape She staggers out of the house

No doubt this reads like a fight scene in a script from a thriller, but it isn't. It's the true story of Christy Martin, now Christy Salters, and her encounter with her former husband and boxing coach Jim Martin. The attack took place in Apopka, Florida, on November 23, 2010 - after he reportedly spent 20 years threatening to kill her If she ever left him

Certainly the events Salters had...