Caroline Dubois Dominates Amelia Moore on Points

Caroline Dubois retained her WBC and WBO lightweight titles with a commanding unanimous decision over Amelia Moore in Birmingham, although the American challenger displayed sufficient resolve to prevent an emphatic victory becoming an easy evening.

Two judges scored the contest 99-90 and the third returned 98-91, giving Dubois nine rounds on two cards and eight on the other. Moore was also counted in the fifth, though the incident owed at least as much to a loss of balance as it did to the force of the champion’s punch.

Dubois, the younger woman by 11 years, began on the front foot and immediately attacked Moore’s body. The American held advantages in height and reach, but Dubois used quick feet and changes of level to cross the distance before Moore could establish her longer jab.

Moore attempted to operate as a counter-puncher in the second, waiting for Dubois to commit before replying with the right hand. Dubois was patient, judging the range and ending the round with an overhand right to the head.

The champion settled fully into her work during the third, her most productive round of the contest. She landed 15 of 44 punches, including 12 of 23 power shots, repeatedly beating Moore to the target. Dubois was at her best when moving in behind a feint, striking the body and then bringing the left upstairs from her southpaw stance.

Moore struggled to find her target in the fourth as Dubois controlled both the distance and tempo. The American’s jab occasionally made contact, but it rarely disrupted the champion’s advance. Dubois remained quicker into range and, more importantly, quicker out of it.

The fifth produced the only knockdown. Moore went to the canvas after appearing to lose her footing during an exchange, although the referee administered a count. Dubois attempted to capitalise immediately and finished the attack with a right hook, but Moore regained her composure and reached the bell without further trouble.

Dubois became less active in the sixth, landing only six punches, but Moore was unable to exploit the lull. The champion’s movement continued to make her an awkward target, and the challenger’s attacks were generally too deliberate to catch her cleanly.

Sharp hooks to the head restored Dubois’s authority in the seventh. She then drove a straight left through Moore’s guard, a punch which illustrated the difference between them. Moore was game and physically strong, but Dubois possessed the superior timing and could create openings rather than merely waiting for them.

Blood began to run from Moore’s nose in the eighth as the cumulative effect of Dubois’s cleaner punching became visible. The challenger never stopped trying, yet her successes were isolated and were usually answered before she could build sustained pressure.

Moore finally forced Dubois backwards for a spell during the ninth. It was her most ambitious period of the fight, but it arrived after the champion had already accumulated an imposing lead. Dubois was not as sharp late on as she had been during the first half, although she remained in control and was never seriously threatened.

The American produced her highest output over the closing two rounds and narrowly outlanded Dubois 9-8 in the tenth. An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on Moore, providing an uncomfortable finish to a contest she had pursued bravely but unsuccessfully.

The final statistics supported the wide verdict. Dubois landed 97 of 384 punches, while Moore connected with 63 of 313. The champion’s principal advantage came in power punching, where she landed 75 of 178 at 42.1 per cent. Moore managed 37 of 159, a rate of 23.3 per cent. The challenger actually edged the jab count 26-22, but those figures did little to alter the pattern of the fight.

Dubois improved her unbeaten record to 14-0-1 and retained the two lightweight championships she unified by defeating Terri Harper earlier in the year. Moore, who entered with only four professional contests behind her, suffered her first defeat but demonstrated resilience against a champion operating several levels above her previous opposition.

The more heated exchange came after the boxing had finished. Alycia Baumgardner, watching from ringside ahead of her move into the lightweight division, dismissed Dubois’s display as lacklustre. Dubois responded by declaring herself the best fighter in the division and challenged Baumgardner to meet her if the American defeats Elif Nur Turhan.

Baumgardner was correct that Dubois tired slightly and failed to produce a stoppage against an inexperienced challenger. Nevertheless, the champion won almost every round, scored a knockdown and was never in danger. If that qualifies as an inadequate performance, the lightweight division has acquired unusually demanding standards.

For me, this was another Caroline Dubois performance where the quality was obvious, the result was comfortable, but very little happened to make boxing fans desperate to see her again. She won 99-90, 99-90 and 98-91, and I cannot argue with those scores. Amelia Moore was tough but limited, and Dubois was operating at a higher level.

Dubois controlled the distance well from her southpaw stance, stepped inside Moore’s longer reach and landed the cleaner punches. Her body work was particularly good, and the straight left repeatedly found its way through Moore’s guard.

But that is precisely my problem. Once Dubois knew she could not lose, she seemed content merely to keep winning. The fifth-round knockdown, even if Moore was partly off balance, should have been the signal to increase the tempo. Instead, Dubois returned to collecting rounds. There was no sustained body attack, no cutting off the exits and no real attempt to force Moore into a position where the referee or corner had to intervene.

Alycia Baumgardner called the performance lacklustre afterwards. The remark was designed to wind Dubois up, but there was some truth in it.

Dubois has excellent feet, timing, strength and punch variety. What she lacks is spice. She must stop settling for the points win simply because it is available. Champions win fights; attractions make people care. At present, Dubois is unquestionably the first but not yet the second.