On paper, Canada’s Marie Eve Dicaire has all the benefits one might dream about when going through probably the most troublesome struggle of her profession.
With a world title beneath her belt, going through a noticeably smaller opponent, holding a greater report with just one loss in opposition to arguably the best fighter of our time and with a number of extra professional bouts than her foe, one would suppose that Dicaire has the wind beneath her wings and that the champagne is already being frappe’d in her room in anticipation for a signature win.
However that’s not essentially the case.
“Actually, I don’t see something after this struggle, as a result of my solely focus is November 12. Natasha Jonas is my solely focus,” mentioned Dicaire (18-1, 1 knockout) in a telephone interview after touchdown in Manchester, the place she can be going through former Olympian and present two-belt titleholder Jonas in a unification bout on Saturday, Nov. 12. “I’ve been consuming, dreaming, sleeping on boxing Natasha Jonas for the previous two months, and to me all that issues is Saturday. After that, I do know I can be seating with all my group to see what are the choices and what course are we going to take after, however proper now, at this second, my solely focus is Natasha Jonas.”
Not a nasty thought, certainly. In spite of everything, the supremely gifted Jonas was certainly one of Britain’s first-ever Olympians and a trailblazer in her personal proper, simply as Dicaire was in her native Canada. And though Jonas (12-2-1, 8 KOs) has had her share of disappointments in her profession and is developing dramatically in weight after being a contender within the light-weight area throughout her early run, Dicaire feels she’s the one who has one thing to show this time round too.
“I believe Natasha Jonas is a superb fighter. She’s been doing quite a bit in Nice Britain for girls’s boxing, so I’m thrilled to be going through her on this large occasion right here in Manchester. For certain, she is a boxer that I have to take severely, as a result of though she’s smaller than me she might be quick. I do know she has a really quick proper hook, and I do know she’s going to be utilizing it quite a bit. So I’m going to be able to neutralize this.”
Dicaire will certainly have a measurement benefit on this struggle, since Jonas has fought her final two fights at this weight (her WBO title-winning effort over Chris Namus and her unification in opposition to Patricia Berghult) within the decrease area of her weight restrict, by no means weighing in over 150 kilos for any of her 154-pound title bouts.
“Clearly, Jonas is the smaller boxer,” mentioned Dicaire, “and for us is a part of the technique to make use of my weight benefit. However the factor is I’m heavier however I’m additionally stronger than her. I’ve been working quite a bit on getting to make use of this weight benefit, to make use of this measurement benefit. So I believe it will likely be a bonus for us within the ring on Saturday night time.”
One other benefit for Dicaire, apart from being a confirmed fighter at 154, is that her lack of punching energy has maybe compelled her to cope with each doable fashion of combating realizing that she should discover a approach to win on factors. Which she has accomplished nearly on a regular basis to this point.
“I believe that my largest energy is my ring IQ,” mentioned Dicaire. “I’ve been for having the ability to adapt and alter my fashion of combating with no matter scenario I’m going through. I’m a boxer who likes to take her time to investigate what’s happening, and to attempt to discover the breach in each scenario. So I believe that is certainly one of my largest strengths on this occasion.”
The stress of changing into a champion can also be up to now for her, since she managed to win a world title comparatively early in her profession (in 2018, defeating Chris Namus additionally however for the IBF title again then). And after her loss to Shields in a aggressive unification bout in 2021, she rapidly rebounded to defeat Cynthia Lozano for her outdated vacant IBF belt 9 months later, scoring a stoppage win to elevate her personal outdated belt as soon as once more.
This time, nonetheless, there’s a totally different belt at stake. And it does play an enormous half in her motivation to win overseas.
“I believe the Ring belt is the one which challenges me probably the most of this one,” mentioned Dicaire, relating to the truth that the vacant Ring belt left behind by Claressa Shields in her transfer as much as middleweight can be up for grabs on this struggle. “It’s the one that provides me extra want. I do know the notoriety and the repute of The Ring journal, and to me, being rated No. 1 is admittedly cool. However to have the possibility to carry this title? I imply, it’s one thing in my bucket record, and I will obtain it.”
Diego M. Morilla has written for The Ring since 2013. He has additionally written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and plenty of different magazines, web sites, newspapers and retailers since 1993. He’s a full member of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America and an elector for the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame. He has gained two first-place awards within the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he’s the moderator of The Ring’s Girls’s Rankings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second period of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is at present a author and editor for RingTV.com.
