IBO Lightweight Champion Caroline Dubois will face Maira Moneo on August 3 in a WBC Lightweight Title eliminator from the Oakwell Stadium in Barnsley, live on FIGHT SPORTS subject to territories.
Dubois enters the bout with a 9-0 record, which includes five KOs. She won the vacant IBO belt with a unanimous decision win over Magali Rodriguez last year. Dubois is a heavy-handed fighter, much like her brother Daniel Dubois, the current IBF Heavyweight Champion. It is Dubois’ first fight since signing with BOXXER and Sky Sports.
Moneo is no pushover. She is 14-1, but unlike Dubois, she only has three knockouts to her name. While her previous stoppage was only last year against Alys Sanchez, she will have to earn Dubois’ respect, who will look to walk down her opponent. Moneo holds the WBC Interim Lightweight Title, knowing that a win keeps her on course to face the undisputed champion, Katie Taylor. FIGHT SPORTS caught up exclusively with Dubois ahead of her fight.
Interview
How do you manage a lifestyle of being a pro boxer?
“I started boxing when I was nine years old, so just being in the gym, being involved in fights as an amateur, going to the Olympics, the youth, Olympics, worlds, etc has helped me prepare for this moment. Obviously being a professional is another level. It’s a different level of expectation and pressure. You know, as an amateur, if you lose, it gets brushed under the rug. But as a pro, if you lose, it can really impact and affect your career. So it’s very important, and it’s about learning to embrace the pressure, learning to get used to it. And I think that can only happen through experience.”
You trained at a boys club instead of a Girls Club. Do you think that helped you in the long run?
“I think it helped. I think being surrounded by people who are naturally quicker. You know, when you’re surrounded by people who are better than you, not even just on a physical element, but just, just naturally, it pushes you. You know when the standard and the level around you is so high, either you meet it and match it, or you unfortunately have to leave.”
Is it important for you to keep the boxing legacy going in your bloodline?
“It’s important for me to keep my legacy going for myself. You know, I don’t want to sound selfish, but I step in the ring. I wake up, I do all the training required. I do it for my family. I do it for a better future. But I think ultimately, you have to be doing it for yourself. You have to be enjoying it.”
How important was the experience in the Olympics?
“I think the Olympics is a great moment for so many fighters. If you look at the legends in the game, Lennox Lewis, he did it twice. Sugar Ray Leonard, he battled to make it…Mayweather went to the Olympics…AJ, all these guys, they all came through the Olympic cycle. So the Olympics plays a very, very important role.”
What’s important: winning a gold medal or winning a world title?
“I think now my career, being an undisputed world champion, being a multi-weight world champion, dominating as a professional, is a way bigger goal and a way bigger challenge.”
Where do you want to be one year from now?
“I would love to have a world title around my waist. I have an IBO, but unfortunately, that one isn’t very recognized. So I would love to have a major belt, you know, be it WBC, the IBF, the WBO, whatever. I’d love to be in a position where I can be comfortable financially and just enjoy my boxing. “
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