A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our Camilla Panatta, who on December 19 will step into the ring at the Kayesa Center in Miami to challenge WBC lightweight world champion Caroline Dubois. The bout will be part of the undercard of the highly talked-about clash between former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua and former YouTuber Jake Paul, promoted by MVP Promotions.
Camilla Panatta is 34 years old and will head into this major appointment with a professional record of 8 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw, with 1 victory by KO. A southpaw, our representative has openly admitted that she changed her style during her transition from amateur boxing — where she relied on constant and relentless movement — to the professional ranks, where she has become increasingly inclined toward close-range battles.
This strategic shift was encouraged by the environment in which the Italian has developed her pro career, namely Mexico, where taking a step backward is almost considered blasphemous. In fact, Panatta has fought ten of her eleven professional bouts in Mexico. The only exception was her unlucky trip to France last December, when an accidental clash of heads ruled by the referee led to a technical decision loss via split decision.
Caroline Dubois is also a southpaw and is a very no-nonsense fighter who focuses on substance rather than style. The sister of former heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois relies heavily on her physical strength: she likes to work the body at close range and tends to be repetitive in her attacks, yet she is far from easy to contain.
The British fighter captured the WBC Interim lightweight title in August 2024 before being elevated to full world champion status when Katie Taylor vacated the belt to settle into the super-lightweight division. To date, Dubois holds a professional record of 11 wins and 1 technical draw, with 5 victories by knockout.
There is no hiding the fact that Panatta will enter this fight as a clear underdog. Dubois has just signed with MVP, making her the home fighter, well-backed, undefeated, and widely expected by experts to retain her world title. The biggest obstacle for our representative will be the gap in explosiveness between the two fighters. Dubois appears significantly faster and more explosive in delivering her punches than Panatta, an aspect that could prove decisive.
Regardless of how it ends, this fight represents a huge personal achievement for Camilla, as well as a reward for the boldness and courage that four years ago pushed her to embark on the difficult path of professional boxing thousands of miles away from her homeland.