by David P. Greisman

Because no story is too strange for boxing, there’s this from Australia, where a former women’s world titleholder is now no longer a titleholder — and possibly might not be a woman.

That’s what officials are wondering about Usanakorn Kokietgym, a 24-year-old from Thailand who lost a unanimous decision this past Friday against Susie Ramadan.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the fighter tested positive for three times the amount of testosterone normally found in a woman.

She told officials after the fight that she had not taken steroids, and she refused to take blood tests that would have shown whether she is, well, a she, according to the newspaper.

“There’s a possibility that she started off as a man and has taken estrogen,” the newspaper quoted Peter Lewis, chairman of the Australian Ringside Medicine Association, as saying. “Or we could be dealing with a woman who is pumped up on steroids. Or she could be a hermaphrodite, where you have the genes of a male and the body of a female.”

Other medical conditions also could cause her to have such a high level of testosterone, he said.

Despite the fact that these testosterone levels were discovered before the bout, the fight still went on. Ramadan came out the victor, taking the World Boxing Council’s female bantamweight title.

Usanakorn Kokietgym fell to 11-2 with 10 knockouts, the other defeat coming in 2009 against titleholder Ana Maria Torres

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com.