Old-school Dubois set on inheriting Taylor's throne

Caroline Dubois is unbeaten in 10 fights, has barely lost a round, she is the world champion, and nobody wants to fight her.

- STEVE BUNCE

On Saturday in Sheffield, she defends the full version of the WBC lightweight title against Jessica Camara, a Canadian with a hard head.

Dubois has been the full 10 rounds in her last four fights, easily breezing past women from Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico. There are dozens of women who fight in virtual obscurity, in tough fights for titles on tiny wages, and they love coming to Britain for good paydays and treatment. In the men’s game, they resemble the long-lost craftsmen known as journeymen; in the women’s game, they are often contenders.

And in that women’s game, dominance is not necessarily measured by stoppages or knockdowns; Dubois has dominated in style, gained 40 valuable rounds, stopped five of her opponents, and is still only 23. One judge, in one of the four fights, somehow decided she had lost three rounds, which is comedy.

Camara has lost four of her 18 fights, is 36 and proven at a higher level; she loses the big ones, but she competes. A stoppage for Dubois would send yet another warning to the women at her weight and in the weights above.