Caroline Dubois was inspired by Katie Taylor and the first women’s Olympic boxing champion as a child, but now Dubois is trying to force a fight with Taylor and will continue to criticise the Irish superstar.
If Dubois beats Maira Moneo on Saturday, Sky SportsIf she wins the title, she will capture the WBC interim lightweight title. Taylor is currently boxing at a higher weight class but still holds the WBC 135-pound world championship title.
“If we win Saturday, I’ll be her mandatory bout, so she has two options: walk out or fight me,” Dubois said. Sky Sports.
“I need to keep calling her name so people know I’m serious about this.”
“If you don’t speak up, people will forget about you. Katie knows what’s going on.”
But Moneo will be a tough opponent on Saturday, as the Uruguayan’s only pro fight came by disqualification for headbutting.
But Dubois warned that if Moneo resorts to unfair tactics, “I’ll hit back right back.”
“I’ll punch her unconscious.”
Dubois needs to deliver, but she says, “I’m just focused on getting in the ring and beating my opponent. That’s my focus. As long as I’m focused on how I look and perform when I get in the ring, there’s no pressure.”
“If I win, people will talk about me. If I lose, people will forget about me. So the focus is on winning and how to win.”
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After the Moneo bout, Dubois expressed interest in facing Katie Taylor.
Though Dubois is a young professional, he is accustomed to the high expectations of a talented amateur, having gone undefeated in his youth and junior years, winning world and European championships and thriving in those categories.
It was her first defeat as a senior boxer but also her most painful, having been eliminated at the last Olympics before reaching the medal stage.
But she now believes the experience will serve her well in the future.
“Every time I went to a tournament, people started noticing this girl was undefeated,” Dubois said. “I started caring more about not losing than about winning, and I think that’s the problem.”
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Dubois dominated Miranda Reyes but was unable to get the stoppage despite landing a number of hard-hitting combinations.
“There is a difference, but what I learned from that experience is that I need to care more about winning than losing.”
“I remember watching Katie and Claressa when I was 11. [Shields] Nicola [Adams]After watching the Olympics in London, I wanted to go to the Olympics. After watching the Olympics in London, I wanted to win a gold medal.
“They fueled that dream from when I was a little kid all the way through to when I was 20 years old. It was everything I ever wanted. Letting go of that dream was very hard and it taught me a lot.”
Now, she makes it a point to be proactive and aggressive whenever she takes on an opponent, and that’s exactly what Moneo hopes to achieve in Saturday’s match.
Against such opponents, Dubois said, “You have to fight because everyone wants to win.”
“All they have is effort and enthusiasm and they bring it every time and we have to match it.”
“You have to want it harder than them, you have to practice harder than them and have better skills than them, and I always do that.”
Watch Myra Moneo vs Caroline Dubois Live Sky Sports Action Saturday, August 3rd, starting at 7:30pm.
