Lucía Rijker, unbeaten against women, lost to an unknown boxer

Lucía Rijker, unbeaten against women, lost to a boxer with no record

Lucía Rijker amassed a 17-0 record with 14 KOs in professional boxing and 36 wins with 25 KOs in kickboxing. Three-time world champion. Nicknamed "the most dangerous woman in the world" and "Female Tyson," the Sport Science program measured her punching power with a dummy and recorded an impact above that of a male Olympic boxer in the same weight class. When she ran out of worthy opponents, she wanted to face a man. She chose an unknown boxer, Somchai Jaidee, of similar height and barely one kilo in his favor. She lost for the first time.

The case serves to illustrate a discussion that resurfaces whenever women's self-defense comes up: what happens when the best contact athlete of her generation takes on a man with no relevant record? The answer, according to the available data, is that the physical difference is not offset by technique.

Why the best female boxer in the world lost to a man with no history

A man has approximately 40% of his body weight in muscle mass, compared to 23% for a woman. Add to that greater bone density, testosterone and, generally speaking, greater reach. These factors do not disappear because the opponent has better technique. In Rijker's case, her punching power was exceptional for a woman, but the fight was decided in the man's favor.

Some argue that a single case proves nothing. It is true that this was a single bout and that the exact conditions of the fight are not documented in detail. But others claim the pattern repeats in other sports. In disciplines where physique matters less —shooting, equestrian sports, chess, motorsports— some argue that women also perform below the male professional average. That suggests, according to that view, that the gap is not only muscular.

The güevedoces argument: hormones versus social construct

In the Dominican Republic there are the so-called güevedoces: babies born with ambiguous genitals due to a hormonal deficiency, raised as girls and, at puberty, developing a penis and testicles. If gender identity were purely a social construct, these children should feel like women. In interviews included in the material, many recount that they never liked dolls, that they preferred playing ball with the other boys and were scolded for it. They knew something did not fit.

This fact is used to argue that there are cognitive and behavioral differences tied to biology, not just upbringing. Some argue that the male mind tends toward the analytical and logical; the female, toward the empathetic and social. Hence the defense of separation by sens in sports and physical tests, but also the questioning of forced inclusion in disciplines where performance does not depend on strength.

What's wrong with women's self-defense courses

The material poses an uncomfortable exercise: imagine that you, an average fit man with some fighting ability, had to face Mike Tyson in his prime. Could you beat him in a ring? Impossible. In a street fight with no weapons? Very unlikely. With a weapon that only you have? Depends on the weapon.

The comparison is used to illustrate the real difference between an average woman and an average man. If a trained man would have a hard time against Tyson, a woman without specific training has an even harder time against a male aggressor. Hence the criticism of courses that teach mechanical techniques against a cooperative opponent: on the street, the aggressor does not cooperate.

The practical conclusion that is repeated is simple: avoid risky situations, keep your distance, run and call for help. Weapons, if carried, require training; otherwise, they can end up in the aggressor's hands.

The video pitting a young man against a female fighter and what it reveals

The material mentions a video in which a young man, with no apparent muscle, faces a female fighter. The result is emphatic: the young man dominates effortlessly. Those commenting on it point out that the difference is not in technique, but in power. The fighter has better handling of space and more resources, but every exchange of blows leaves her at a disadvantage.

This type of matchup is used to question the idea that technique can close the physical gap in a real fight. The discussion drifts toward the advisability of separating sens in contact sports and toward the real usefulness of women's self-defense as it is taught.

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The unsettling fact is not that Rijker lost. It is that the best female boxer of her generation, with punching power measured above a male Olympian's, fell to a man with no record. If that happens in a ring with rules, the question of what happens on the street has no reassuring answer.