Lucia Rijker of Amsterdam

Age: 37
Birth Date: December 06, 1967
Birth Place: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Living Place: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 140 lbs
Record Boxing: 17-0 (14 KO's)
Record Kickboxing: 37-0 (25 KO's)

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bio

5'6" junior welterweight Lucia Rijker of Holland, now living in Los Angeles, California, may be the world's most dangerous female fighter on a pound-for-pound basis. She has been referred to as "The Most Dangerous Woman in the World," "Queen of Lightning," "Lady Ali," and "The Dutch Destroyer."

Born in Amsterdam on December 6, 1967, Rijker began training in judo at the age of six.Rijker began kickboxing at age fifteen, studying in the gym of Johan Vos, one of the most respected training facilities in Holland and training primarily with male kickboxing, boxing and judo champions. She burst into prominence in the kickboxing world in her sixth match on January 15, 1984 ... disabling veteran American champion Lilly Rodriguez (sister of then world champion kickboxer Benny "The Jet" Urquidez) just 30 seconds into a scheduled five-round fight with powerful kicks to the legs.

Her only defeat in a kickboxing ring was in a Muay Thai style exhibition match at Sporthalle Zuid in Amsterdam in October 1994, when Lucia fought male Thai boxer Somchai Jaidee, who knocked her out in the second round.

Lucia TKO'd Kelly Jacobs of Kansas City in the first round in Reno, Nevada on December 6, 1996.

Rijker then decided to go back to Holland and test her boxing skills further. She defeated Zsuzsanna Szuknai of Hungary by a first round TKO in Rotterdam on December 17, 1996 (Szuknai has since fought in amateur competitions in Europe!) and captured the WIBF European Championship from Irma Verhoef of Holland with a fourth round TKO in Rotterdam on February 4, 1997.

Now confident in her abilities as a pro boxer, Rijker was hungry for a championship fight in the United States.

On a March 22, 1997 pay-per-view event at Meorial Coliseum in Corpus Christi, Texas, Rijker knocked out then-novice (1-0) Chevelle Hallback of Tampa, Florida in the fifth round. (Fight report). Chevelle later told me that she had no idea that she would be fighting someone of Rijker's background and experience when she accepted this fight contract.

On May 14, 1997, Rijker fought gritty Dora Webber of Paterson, NJ in Ledyard Connecticut and won a sixth-round unanimous (60-54 x 3) decision. Webber, a veteran of tough bouts in the mid-1980's, was heavier and strong, but gave away ten years, basic skills, speed and power to Rijker.

After this first points win of her pro boxing career, Lucia said it was a new experience being in the ring with a heavier woman who liked to fight inside. She also stated her interest in fighting Christy Martin.

On June 14, 1997 at Grand Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, Rijker did away with a very game but outclassed Gwen Smith by a TKO with 1:10 left in the fourth round. According to the fight report on the Women's Boxing Page, the end came when "Gwen led with a looping right toward Lucia's head. Lucia ducked under and weaved to the left and threw a left hook, to the head over Gwen's extended right. Gwen's right knee collapsed and she went over backwards, her neck fortunately landed on the bottom rope. The ref pushed Lucia backed to her corner. He turned to Gwen, who was trying to clear the cobwebs and gain some coordination to get up, when he stopped the fight with 1:10 left in the round."

Lucia then defeated Andrea DeShong by a third-round TKO in Las Vegas on September 13.

Lucia (136 lbs) won the WIBF Super Lightweight title in her ninth pro fight when she easily defeated Germany's Jeanette Witte (135 1/2 lbs) by third-round TKO in Los Angeles on November 20, 1997. The fight was stopped by the referee at 1:25 in the third after a bloodied Witte was knocked down.  

The Rijker's undefeated record and clearly superior skills and abilities made her the subject of television specials by ABC's Wide World of Sports and HBO's Boxing Series, and more talk of a superfight with Christy Martin, who was then the icon of women's boxing to the sports media in the USA.

Lucia Rijker's next fight was the first women's bout to be seen on prime time network TV in the USA (albeit in a "death slot" opposite the Academy Awards). Weighing in at 139 1/2 lbs, she TKO'd former WIBF super welterweight champion Mary Ann Almager (140 lbs) at 1:03 of the first round on March 23, 1998 at Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, CT. Almager, a 5'9" southpaw with a solid record (9-1 with 7 KO's) had been seen as an opponent who might test Lucia, but it was not to be. Almager seemed nervous and had been out of the ring since her bloody defeat by Valerie Henin Wiet; she was also coming off knee surgery and had difficulty making weight for the bout. Lucia drove her into a corner with her first concerted attack, and decked her with a short left hook below the ear. The referee stopped the contest when Almager got up looking dazed. Lucia's post-fight interview was as long as the action ... she used it to make her disdain for Christy Martin painfully clear! (See the full fight report by Chuck McAllister) .

The key was Rijker's role as an advisor and as an on-screen villain in 2005's Oscar-winning movie "Million Dollar Baby". This sparked more interest in women's boxing and brought some media attention back to Lucia. Lucia was the subject of an award-winning documentary film about Women's Boxing, "Shadow Boxers" by Katya Bankowski, released in 2000. New Yorker writer Hilton Als called it "as visually stunning as it is politically important, witty and humane" and the Vancouver (Canada) Sun said that "Shadow Boxers is a subtle achievement in filmmaking that reaches far beyond the screen." After Shadow Boxers her acting career isn't finished just yet.
In 2002 she spent 7 months in Montreal, shooting the movie Rollerball (with LL Cool J, Chris Klein, Jean Reno and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos.) In 2004 she had the chance of working together with Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby. The shooting for Lucia's part in the movie took only 2 weeks, the end result was the one and only 'Billie the Blue Bear'. But Lucia didn't only act in Million Dollar Baby, she also trained Actress Hilary Swank in boxing. That's probably why Maggie Fitzgerald (Hillary) makes such good punches, as seen on screen.