Dubois retains title as head clash ends Camara bout in draw

After a technical scuffle caused by a clash of heads, British lightweight Caroline Dubois and Jessica Camara lost to one of the women’s lightweights in a thrilling technical draw.

On her 24th birthday, Dubois dropped the challenger with a smart, straight left hand in the first round in Sheffield.

After the unintentional head-related collision, the Londoner sensed an early finish and continued to put on pressure as blood rushed down Camara’s left eye.

Before the third, the referee and ringside physician waved off the match, saying the 36-year-old Canadian, whose right eye was also severely swollen, was unfit to continue.

“The blood wasn’t coming in her face, she didn’t want it”, said Dubois, who won her first 10 pro fights.

“It was either stopped by a doctor or I’m stopping it,” the doctor said. I wish her a safe return home and hope she is well-off.

After Katie Taylor vacated her belt, Dubois was elevated from an interim champion to a full-time world champion. She has requested that Terri Harper, the WBO champion from Doncaster, fight for unification next.

Callum Simpson of Barnsley won the second-round stoppage of Steed Woodall in the main event to defend his British and Commonwealth supermiddleweight titles.

Dubois wanted the outcome, but the champion’s four minutes of boxing were all impressive.

Her entrance to a dance remix of Whitney Houston’s ‘ I’m every woman ‘ hyped up the sold-out 3, 000 crowd, made up almost entirely of fans supporting Yorkshireman Simpson.

Dubois came out with real intent. In the first round, she first hit Camara with the left and fired a sharp body shot before slogging Camara with the southpaw.

As Dubois landed frightful, threatening power punches, former cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith cheered his stablemate from the stands.

Camara had won four fights before, but when she sighed when she turned around in the corner, she was clearly out of her depth.

Dubois grunted with each punch received throughout the second and kept bulldozing herself.

Before the disappointing finish prematurely ended proceedings, she had hoped to earn a sixth stoppage win. The judges’ scorecards would have determined the outcome if the contest had advanced past the fourth round.

Long heralded as the future of women’s boxing, amateur standout Dubois – despite this draw with Camara – has done everything asked of her as a professional.

“She is the best female fighter on the planet by a mile”, said McGuigan.

Her boxing profile does not yet marry up with her abilities, however. Dubois ‘ record is void of that marquee opponent, one which could propel her stardom.