Female Hall of Fame boxer fought man in highly unusual cross-gender fight that left entire crowd in shock

A female former professional boxer and kickboxer once fought a male Muay Thai fighter, and the results were certainly interesting.

Back in October 1994, Dutch boxer and kickboxer Lucia Rijker took part in a bizarre exhibition bout, in which she faced a male Muay Thai fighter, Somchai Jadee.

At the time, Rijker, now 57, sported a perfect kickboxing record of 36 wins and no losses, as well as holding multiple world titles.

Jaidee, who came in lighter, entered the contest with a professional record of 13 wins and one defeat.

The bout’s first round started in even fashion with both fighters landing blows before Jaidee appeared more comfortable as the round progressed and he began landing the more notable shots - even knocking Rijker down with a brutal kick.

The Dutch woman bit down on her gum shield and fired back with scoring shots of her own, but at the start of round two, the pair exchanged blows before one delivered by Jaidee eventually knocked Rijker to the floor, which then ended the bout.

And despite the result of the bout, Rijker’s legacy is already cemented in female combat sports, and she paved the way for the future successes of fighters such as Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.

A cross-gender fight would not be permitted by most sanctioning bodies today.

So, what happened next for Rijker?

In 1999, she stepped away from the sport and pursued a career in acting, landing a role in the Oscar-winning female boxer film Million Dollar Baby.

Rijker also played a minor role in Star Trek.

Lucia Rijker in action (Credit:Getty)

But in February 2002, she returned to the boxing ring, beating Carla Witherspoon by TKO before going on to register wins over Jane Couch and Deborah Fettkether.

Speaking to Rolling Stone in 1999, Rijker explained how she only "trained with guys".

She said: "I focused on becoming a fighter. I trained only with guys. There was no crying. There was no ‘no,’ only ‘yes, yes’ and, ‘Go do it.’ I fought with a lot of anger then... I was vicious."