How women’s boxing is holding itself back

Caroline Dubois tells Frankie Christou authorities must bring the length of female professional and amateur rounds in line with each other or risk the immense potential of the sport

Dubois competed in Olympic qualifying last weekend (Getty Images)

Caroline Dubois has called for boxing authorities to bring the length of female professional and amateur rounds in line with each other by labelling the difference between the two as “ridiculous.”

As it stands, professional female boxers are limited to ten two-minute rounds whilst amateurs experience three-minute rounds.

The southpaw finds the difference between the two bemusing and believes it holds the sport back from reaching its potential.

“Female boxing is definitely progressing, but I feel like two-minute rounds have to be moved up to the three minutes,” Dubois said at the Copperbox Arena.

“As an amateur I am boxing three minutes, how can a grown woman get in the ring and feel happy that she is going to be boxing in two minutes? I know loads who would want to get it changed.”

In other combat sports, men and women share the time limit on rounds which Dubois says proves that both sexes can deliver equally through their fights.

“I think it is pretty ridiculous that they are saying females are now fit enough but in UFC females and males fight the exact same and they compete at the exact same level,” she added.

“All you would have to do is train harder and get used to it. If the boys were to get their rounds changed to two minutes, half the stoppages will be gone.

“Half the exciting fights we get would be gone because it will be a sprint.

“Rounds will go by so quickly there will be focusing on more tit for tat. When they say females do not get knockouts or it is not as exciting, it is because of the two-minute rounds.

“How many male fights get stopped in the later half of the rounds?”