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Tuesday, February 29, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Top female boxers brawl in Los Angeles
By Kevin Iole
Review-Journal
Christy Martin has long been the most well-known female boxer in the world, and Lucia Rijker has for years been considered by experts the best fighter among women.
Monday, at an otherwise ordinary media event designed to promote Friday's World Boxing Association super welterweight championship fight at Caesars Palace between David Reid and Felix Trinidad, a brawl between the women took place.
Reid, the World Boxing Association champion, was in the ring at the Los Angeles Boxing Gym completing his workout in front of about 500 fans and media. Martin was standing in front of the ring after having completed a television interview when the brawl started.
"I had just finished the interview and tried to get past her, and I never said anything to her," said Martin, who said she is fine and will fight on Friday's undercard against Belinda Laracuente. "I tried to step around her because I didn't want trouble. I have a fight on Friday, and that's my main objective. But she took a cheap shot and hit me on my blind side. It didn't faze me, and I guess that's got to have her worried."
Seth Palansky, a former public relations specialist who used to work with Martin, said he walked over to the gym to say hello to Martin because he hadn't seen her in a long time. He said he was standing in front of Martin when a punch came over his shoulder and hit her.
It picked up again later as Rijker was being escorted from the gym.
FOX Sports boxing analyst Rich Marotta said he spoke to Rijker shortly before the scrap and had a slightly different view of the start than Palansky. Marotta said Rijker, who could not be reached for comment, whispered something to Martin, prompting Martin to shove Rijker. Rijker responded with a hook, Marotta said, and the two began wrestling on the floor.
Marotta said the two began fighting again on the other side of the ring, but that he didn't have a good angle on it.
Martin said Rijker tries to make it look as if she wants to fight her in the ring, but that neither Rijker nor her team has made a serious offer. Martin said she knows Rijker needs her to make a big payday.
"It would be a big payday for me, too," Martin said. "Rijker seems to make a career of telling the media she wants to fight me, but does she really want to fight me? You tell me. She hasn't come up with any offers, and if she wanted me so badly, I think that would have been taken care of."
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