Boxing’s Bane warns Dubois: ‘I was raised in the darkness’

Think darkness is your ally? Amelia Moore was born in it, moulded by it. And she plans to demonstrate as much against Caroline Dubois on Saturday night.

Sure, it is all very Christopher Nolan, all very caped crusader, all very masked man, but the American shoulders her own hardship as immunity to retreat across life both in and out of the ring.

The 36-year-old carries a young professional record of 4-0 as she, in the words of champion Dubois this week, comes ‘back onto the radar’ to challenge for the Londoner’s WBC and WBO lightweight world titles.

From childhood emancipation to Olympic heartbreak, she is well versed in resilience. She will keep coming, like she always has done. Ask Moore and she might tell you she has always been on the radar.

“I had a fight a couple of years ago, I got headbutted and it broke my nose,” Moore tells Sky Sports. “I took a punch and shattered my nose, I was bleeding everywhere and it just did not matter.

“There’s something inside of me that, in a lot of the time those dark places that people get, I feel like I’ve been here before.

“It’s like in Batman with Bane, he goes, ‘I was raised in the darkness’. And I think that’s when you are truly comfortable being in uncomfortable places, it’s normal to you.

“No matter what, you dig deep, you believe in yourself and you push through.”

Moore grew up on a farm in Maine before being emancipated at the age of 16, later working two jobs to fund her life throughout high school, which is where she would also first begin boxing.

Financial circumstances saw her turn towards military opportunities as opposed to the conventional college route, with Moore eventually joining the U.S. Naval Academy. Having been recruited to run track, she also trained in boxing, wrestling and swimming until being medically discharged following her diagnosis of Crohn’s disease.

“I didn’t know what an allowance was, there was responsibilities that required your attention, and that sacrifice and selflessness was kind of built into me at a really young age,” she explains of her childhood.

“My life has been obstacle and challenge, perseverance, and I’ve created it. I’ve created that, who I am and who I’ve become has had to be my effort. There’s been no artificial push. There’s been no handouts.

“There are times where things get so tough and you think to yourself, why me? You get older and you look back and you’re like, thank God it was me. You become resilient, you become creative, you become all of these facets that without a stressor you would never be able to adapt and change and grow.”

Moore was previously part of Team USA for three Olympic cycles having reached the 2016 Summer Games qualifying tournament after just 14 official fights.

She was subsequently forced to withdraw through illness, before also missing out on travelling to Tokyo as an alternate in 2020 as a result of COVID restrictions.

On the surface her professional record may speak to that of an unproven, unknown underdog in the face of a greatness-chasing Dubois, but Moore deems her vast amateur pedigree and accompanying tribulations as evidence of her worth on this weekend’s platform.

With it comes a chance to tear up the narrative.

“There’s a line that I love in a song, it says it’s not about a matter of luck, it’s just about a matter of time. The timeline isn’t what we think it is,” she adds. “2020 really broke my heart because I knew that I felt ready, but there was something else meant for me. So you just have to sit with it keep building.”

“If you keep persevering eventually you get to this point where it’s about being undeniable, and eventually the door opens and opportunity comes, but you have to be ready. I’m ready, I’m ready for this moment.

“We’d all love to be spoon fed and live in a padded world, but those people that don’t experience life don’t change the world. You can’t be bitter, you just have to be better.”

While Moore has been gearing up for the biggest test of her career to date, she has also watched on as opponent Dubois continues to be linked to a clash with WBA, IBF, WBO and The Ring super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner.

Not so fast.

“Everything that’s been going on in the background, and then the announcement of the fight between Baumgardner and Elif Nur Turhan, there’s already been news articles talking about Caroline’s next fight,” said Moore.

“Everyone’s talking about beyond me. Let them. Go ahead. Come Saturday night, it’s just she and I. So that’s totally fine.

“Go ahead and keep thinking beyond me, but I know where I am, and I’m still focused on what I need to do.”

Moore has trained in martial arts since childhood, she is a former Elite National Championships and National PAL gold medallist, a seasoned Team USA athlete, she is a ringside analyst, she is writing a book, she is an advanced Emergency Medical Technician and she bakes a mean sourdough bread.

A multi-faceted, multi-talented life and career also sees her rub shoulders with boxing’s best, Moore having notably worked with undefeated great Terence Crawford in Colorado Springs.

“His entire team has been a great integral part into not only just like my development, but the amount of things that I’ve learned from Bud,” she says.

“I remember the first time I trained with him, I always felt like I was the crazy one. I trained really hard, I don’t know if I’ve ever met anybody that trains harder than I do, or is as dedicated and as crazy disciplined, and then I met him and was like oh my gosh, he’s a lot like me.

“I was blown away. All of his team, all of his coaches, they’re amazing.”

Watch Mikaela Mayer vs Chantelle Cameron this Saturday with Caroline Dubois in action against Amelia Moore, live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream boxing with no contract.