Alycia Baumgardner says Caroline Dubois still has work to do before Baumgardner will agree to a fight with the unified lightweight champion.
Baumgardner defends her WBA, WBO and IBF super-featherweight titles against Bo Mi Re Shin live on Sky Sports from 3am on Saturday. Dubois, fresh from beating Terri Harper for the WBC and WBO lightweight belts, publicly called for a high-profile clash with Baumgardner after that win.
Baumgardner told Sky Sports News that every fight is a possibility, but Dubois needs to keep building her profile as a champion. “She’s mentioned plenty of times becoming undisputed at 135lbs while I’m still at 130lbs defending my world titles. When we talk about building a fight, when we talk about what it is to entertain, those fights need to be worked on,” Baumgardner said.
“She needs to put some more skin in the game as I mentioned. I have done my part, I’ve shown plenty of times that I put on great shows and I became undisputed. I put the work in and now she needs to do the same and then call me out. I think I just heard she wants to move to 147lbs so I think she’s really ducking me at this point. So we’ll just have to see.”
Dubois has other routes. Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), told Sky Sports she should “clean up the division” first to make a Baumgardner fight a bigger event. Bidarian pointed to upcoming bouts such as Stephanie Han vs Holly Holm (May 30) as natural matchups for Dubois as she builds toward an undisputed profile.
Baumgardner could also pursue undisputed status at super-featherweight again. WBC 130lb champion Caroline Veyre has expressed interest, and promoter Dmitriy Salita said he and Veyre are ready to move quickly if Baumgardner remains successful. “Realistically, the most meaningful and natural fight in the division is against the current WBC champion, Caroline Veyre,” Salita said, expressing confidence in Veyre’s ability to win.
MVP, founded by Bidarian and social media figure Jake Paul, is building a deep women’s boxing roster — now over 45 fighters with 16 world champions — aiming to become a reference brand for women’s boxing. Bidarian explained the mission: be fighter-first, target a young audience, and seize the gap in the market for women’s boxing similar to how Ronda Rousey elevated women’s MMA. He cited personal motivation from being raised by a single mother and the UFC experience introducing women’s MMA.
Jake Paul’s involvement, Bidarian added, stems from his interest in younger audiences and the appeal of women’s boxing’s competitive nature.
The Madison Square Garden card on April 17 also features Shadasia Green vs Lani Daniels in a WBO and IBF super-middleweight unification, with a potential winner-versus-Clarissa Shields showdown in mind. Bidarian said MVP is interested in pursuing a Shields vs Green fight depending on Green’s result.
Watch Alycia Baumgardner vs Bo Mi Re Shin live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 3am on Saturday morning.