Lucia Frederica Rijker (; born December 6, 1967) is a Dutch professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

, and actress. Rijker was sometimes dubbed by the press "The Most Dangerous Woman in the World".

Early career

Rijker speaks four languages and is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, dedicating time daily to meditation and chanting. Her mother was born in the Netherlands and her father is from

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. Rijker started her martial arts career at the early age of six, when she began training in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

. A year later, she was part of the Dutch National Softball Team. At fourteen, after picking up fencing a year earlier, Lucia became the Netherlands Junior Champion of that sport. When she was fifteen she began

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

and knocked out the reigning American kickboxing champion, Lily Rodriguez. Rijker eventually amassed a 36-0 (25 KO) record as a kickboxer, and won four different world titles. Her only defeat in a kickboxing ring was in an exhibition match at Sporthallen Zuid in Amsterdam in October 1994, when she fought male

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

fighter Somchai Jaidee, who knocked her out in the second round.

Career change

After winning her first 14 fights, but failing to secure a match with Christy Martin, Rijker stepped away from boxing in 1999 to pursue a career in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. She appeared as Billie 'The Blue Bear' Osterman in 2004's

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-winning, female boxer-based film ''

Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay written by Paul Haggis, based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...

'' and was featured in the documentary film ''

Shadow Boxers ''Shadow Boxers'' is a 1999 American documentary film about women's boxing, by director Katya Bankowsky, that focuses on the pioneering fighter Lucia Rijker. It also features an original soundtrack by Argentine singer and songwriteZoel ''Shadow Bo ...

''. She played a minor role in '' Rollerball'' and had a brief cameo in the season 2 finale of ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...

'' as Dana's trainer. She returned to ''The L Word'' in Season 5 as Dusty, Helena's cellmate in prison. Rijker played a

Romulan The Romulans () are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They first appeared in the series ''Star Trek'' (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent ''Star Trek'' releases, including '' The A ...

communications officer in the film ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

''.

Return to the ring

She returned to the ring in February 2002, beating

Jane Couch Jane Couch, (born 14 August 1968) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2007. She became the first licensed female boxer in the United Kingdom in 1998, and won numerous world titles. Couch has since become a boxing ...

(20-4 going in; 25-6 as of December 2004) by decision (eight rounds) on June 21, 2003 for her 16th win. Win number 17 was a ten-round decision over "Sun shine” Fettkether on May 20, 2004. Rijker and Christy Martin were scheduled to fight on July 30, 2005 at the

Mandalay Bay Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circus ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Major U.S. promoter

Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...

(Top Rank Boxing's head) had made their match the main event of a card (with otherwise male boxing matches) called "Million Dollar Lady". Each woman was guaranteed $250,000 (U.S.), with the winner receiving an extra $750,000; however, on July 20, it was announced that she had ruptured an

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

while training for the fight; recovery time was estimated to be 4–7 months. The match was ultimately cancelled. In 2006, Rijker stated that although not retired as a professional boxer, she would only consider one more fight - a bout with

Laila Ali Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the World Boxing Council, WBC, Women's I ...

Boxing records

As of February 2007, she was undefeated in the ring; her boxing record is 17-0 (14 K.O.'s). Rijker has been on the cover of numerous magazines including ''

Inside Kung Fu ''Inside Kung-Fu'' was a monthly United States magazine founded in December 1973. Its last issue was in April 2011. History The magazine featured articles on modern wushu and kung fu as well as tournaments and events in the United States and ...

''. As a professional boxer, she has won the

WIBF The Women's International Boxing Federation (WIBF) is one of the more recognized world championship fight sanctioning organizations in women's boxing. Founded in March 1989, it is based in Miami, Florida, and presided over by Barbara Buttrick. The ...

Welterweight Title, and has beaten name fighters such as

Marcela Acuña Marcela Eliana Acuña (born 16 October 1976) is an Argentine professional boxer and part-time politician. She has held multiple super bantamweight world titles, including the IBF title since 2018; the WBA title from 2006 to 2008; the WBC tit ...

(5th-round K.O.; Acuña was 0-1 going into the fight, and retired with a record of 42-6-1), and Deborah "Sunshine" Fettkether (10th-round decision; Fettkether was 8-4-3 going in).

Current activities

For several years, Rijker has been training under the world-famous boxing coach

Freddie Roach Frederick Steven Roach (born March 5, 1960) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. Roach is widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He is the enduring boxing coach of the eight-division world champio ...

. In 2012, she was hired as a striking coach to former UFC Champion

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women’s ...

. She remains busy giving lectures and seminars to athletes and people from all walks of life to perform their best, while still maintaining her top physical form and a strict diet. Rijker once again gained media attention in June 2013, when she worked in the corner of female boxing challenger

Diana Prazak Diana Prazak (born 20 July 1979) is an Australian professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determine ...

in her WBC super featherweight title bout against local champion Frida Wallberg in Stockholm, Sweden. Prazak knocked Wallberg down twice in the eighth round prompting the referee to stop the fight. After a brief check by the ringside doctor, Wallberg started to collapse in her corner. Rijker immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and called the doctor back to the ring while she and Prazak assisted Wallberg. Wallberg had to be carried from the ring on a stretcher to hospital and underwent surgery with a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

. This event sparked controversy about the level of the provided medical attention and reignited debates about banning boxing in Sweden. In 2014, Rijker was part of the inaugural class of the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. In 2019, Rijker became one of the first three women boxers (and the first Dutch woman boxer) elected to the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

; 2019 was the first year that women were on the ballot. In 2017, Rijker hosted the Dutch adaptation of

Jamie's Dream School Jamie's Dream School is a seven-part British television documentary series made by Fresh One Productions, first aired on Channel 4. In it, Jamie Oliver enrols a group of teenagers with fewer than five GCSEs into his "Dream School" – a school ...

; as well as in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Championships and accomplishments

Kickboxing

*1988–1989 — IWBA Women's Boxing World Champion *1985–1994 — WKA Women's Division World Champion *1989–1994 — ISKA Women's Division World Champion

Boxing

*1997 -

Super Lightweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

World Champion *1998 - WIBO Junior Welterweight World Champion *1997–1998 — European

Boxing Champion

Kickboxing record

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K-1 Grand Prix '94 This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

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Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

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Michele Aboro Michele Aboro (born 17 July 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2001. She retired an undefeated world champion, having held the WIBF super-bantamweight title from 2000 to 2001. Michele Aboro, along with her ...

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Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban are ...

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Arnhem, Netherlands Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

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Valérie Hénin Valérie Hénin French boxer, kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. She is a former ISKA World Kickboxing champion and the former WIBF Welterweight boxing champion. Boxing On Valerie Henin boxing debut she fought Mary Ann Almager in order to become ...

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Bonnie Canino Bonnie Canino (born 11 January 1962) is a retired American boxer and kickboxer, and former world featherweight champion for two different associations. She also won world titles in kick boxing for two different associations. She is the former ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rijker, Lucia 1967 births Living people Dutch women boxers Dutch Buddhists Dutch female kickboxers Dutch female fencers Dutch Muay Thai practitioners Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent Boxers from Amsterdam Dutch film actresses