Rijker, St.John: The Right Fork

Bernie McCoy

31.01 - There are many quotations attributed to that famous Yankee philospher, Yogi Berra, some of which he actually uttered. Among the more frequently quoted is: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it". That particular quote has, it seems to me, particular relevance to two of the better know (at least to the general public) female fighters, today. I speak of Lucia Rijker and Mia St John, both of whom are coming to a fork in the road in their long and varied boxing careers.

Rijker, by far the more talented fighter of the two, is scheduled to fight Lisa Holewyne in Phoienix AZ on February 6. St John, by acclimation, the more attractive of the two, is coming off a ten round loss last December 6 to Christy Martin. What each fighter does at this particular fork in their career road could, at the least, have an interesting effect on the world of Women's boxing and, at best, provide some much needed postive publicity for the sport to say nothing of the two fighters .

Rijker, at one time, considered to be among the elite female boxers, has been little more than an enigma for the past several years. Her last fight was in February, 2002 when she knocked out Shakurah Witherspoon to raise her record to 15-0 (14kos.). However, Lucia has had only two bouts in the past two and one half years, and while she has feinted several returns to the ring during that 30 month period, she has also compiled a record of pulling out of bouts at the last minute. Lucia has also made several ventures at a career in the movies and television without any notable sucess. Quite frankly, during this period, her most publicized moment came during a shoving match with Christy Martin in a gym where Martin was training for an upcoming fight in February, 2000. In the late nineties, by contrast, she and Martin were ranked the two best women boxers in the world and a match between the two was considered to be the "holy grail" of Women's boxing. Unfortunately, making the match proved to be as difficult as obtaining the grail. In fairness, Martin, who was the undisputed "face of Women's boxing" during that period, could have made the match happen. It didn't and Rijker seemed to lose her enthusiasm for the sport and diverted her attention to other pursuits.

Now she's back, sort of. In Holewyne (17-8-1), Rijker is facing an "honest" fighter with a good chin who has considerable boxing skills. Holewyne is coming off a fifth round knockout loss to Sumya Anani, currently recognized as the best pound for pound female fighter. Given Rijker's past history of pulling out of fights, the February 6 bout can be termed "possible". In fact another ranked fighter in the junior welterweight division, Sunshine Fettkether has disclosed that she has been asked by the promoter to be ready to step in should a substitute be needed.What may upgrade appearance of Rijker to "probable", if not "certain", is the presence in her camp of the respected trainer Manny Steward. It is doubtful, a boxing man of Steward's stature would involve himself with a fighter he thought was less the 100% committed to a dedicated comeback. Holewyne should prove a good "benchmark" against which Rijker's skill level, such as it is, after long periods of inactivity, can be measured.

Should Rijker dispatch Holewyne early, a number of intriguing matchups suggest themselves: Jane Couch, Fredia Gibbs, Anani, and yes, even Christy Martin, although the luster of a Rijker/Martin bout is not nearly what it would have been five years ago. But first, Rijker has to climb through the ropes in Arizona and prove that she has at least some of the skill that once made her "the most dangerous woman in the world". She may no longer be the most dangerous, but she could still be one of the more compelling in the sport.

Mia St John, on the other hand, is likewise compelling but for entirely different reasons. She is, unquestionably, one of the most physically attractive female fighters in the sport. Of course Anna Kournikova is one of the most physically attractive women tennis players in the world and her next tournament win will be her first. While St John has had plenty of wins inside the ring, currently at 26-2-1, it is a record padded by what her former promoter Bob Arum admitted were opponents with very limited boxing skills. In fact Arum went so far as to say the toughest thing about promoting St John was unearthing fighters that she could beat. However, on December 6, St John astounded many in the Women's boxing world when she lasted ten rounds with Christy Martin in a PPV bout that received scant attention from boxing fans, judging from the lackluster attendance and the PPV "buys". Martin seemed not to have been in the best of condition for the bout and after failing to win with an early KO, seemed content to "mail in" the remainder of the bout and won a unanimous decision. In fairness, although St John lost decisively, she did gain a measure of respectablility, an element significantly absent to that point in her career. It should also be noted, that unlike Martin, St John seemed well trained and in good condition for the bout, had a fairly good game plan for the fight and did manage to survive the ten rounds, an accomplishment few "exoerts" predicted.

However, with respectability comes responsibilty. In order to now be taken seriously as a fighter, St John needs to step up and face the available formidable competition rather than those fighters who have padded her record to this point. She could start with Rolanda Andrews who ko'd St John in November 2001 or Kristy Follmar over whom St John was awarded a very questionable majority decision in May 2002. If she can get by either or both of these fighters, St John will have taken a big step towards rehabilitating what, until the Martin bout, was considered to be a sideshow career. What St John can absolutely not afford to do is revert back to her "Queen of the Four Rounders" roadshow, with stops at such fight venues as the Playboy Mansion.

Thus as we begin an new and critically important year for Women's boxing, two of the better known, well publicized female boxers stand at a fork in the road that is their career. The choices each woman makes could result in some compelling bouts in a sport that needs all the help it can get. If Rijker has a portion of the skill that she showed when she first exploded on the scene in 1996, she can immediately be involved in some very exciting matches in the most competitive division in the sport. If St John chooses to climb into the ring with legitimate competition, she may still be considered a legitimate fighter. She was the beneficary of a great deal of publicity when she was fighting what were essentially "set up" matches. Stepping up in competition would reap even more "ink" for St John and the sport. Interesting women, interesting choices. Here's hoping each fighter takes the right fork in the road as that will make for some very interesting boxing.

On the other hand, if Rijker goes into another self imposed hiatus and St John chooses to return to the "foxy boxing" phase of her career, another Yogi Berra bromide might be applicable to their boxing future: "It gets late real early around here".