Caroline Dubois dropped Terri Harper en route to beating her rival world champion by unanimous decision to unify the WBC and WBO lightweight championships.
After a cagey start, Dubois made a breakthrough in the sixth round when she dropped Harper to the canvas. They fought fiercely through the closing stages with Dubois taking the unanimous verdict — 98-91 twice and 97-92.
The animosity between the British rivals had grown to a fevered intensity by the time they entered Kensington’s Olympia. Harper, a three-weight world champion established on the British scene, had been provoked by Dubois, the WBC titlist, who had dismissed her achievements and threatened an early knockout. That goaded the normally mild-mannered Harper as they sought to one-up each other during fight week.
Neither rushed in the first round, both cautious and probing for jabs. Harper examined Dubois’ southpaw style while Dubois looked to unsettle her with feints and backhand shots. Early exchanges saw Dubois land a right hook and Harper answer with fast straight shots. Harper kept moving, looking to make Dubois work and draining energy with solid punches through the first four rounds. Dubois, meanwhile, began to apply pressure with body work and powerful one-twos but was breathing heavily by the fourth.
At the halfway point there was little to separate them, though Dubois was closing the distance more effectively. In the sixth, she struck first to the body and followed with a crunching left hook to the head that put Harper down. Harper recovered and fought back in the seventh, but Dubois was able to settle and time her shots, landing heavy lefts and whipping in backhands as she attacked the body and head. A cut opened on Harper’s left eyebrow, compounding her troubles as Dubois continued to press.
Harper stood her ground at times, landing hooks and forcing exchanges — notably in the ninth where both traded heavy blows. In the final round they went blow for blow, Harper landing repeated left hooks and rights while Dubois answered with fast right hooks and strong lefts. Harper provided Dubois with a stern professional examination, but Dubois’ precision and the sixth-round knockdown proved decisive.
After the fight Dubois told Sky Sports she was grateful for the atmosphere and wanted to push women’s boxing to the forefront. “I know the Terri Harper fans will be upset but she put on a good show and is a very good boxer,” she said. “This was never personal for me, it was personal for Terri. I am an entertainer and put myself out there for you guys.”
Trainer Shane McGuigan suggested bigger fights and more belts lie ahead for Dubois as she targets undisputed status. He also hinted at interest in a blockbuster showdown with Irish icon Katie Taylor. “She wants the big fights, more belts,” McGuigan said. “Nakisa and the boys want her to box Katie Taylor. Katie is at the end of her career so I’m not sure she’ll want to take that. She’s got all the achievements and accolades and I feel like she needs that farewell fight. At the same time Caroline is the new kid on the block and she’s here to stay. She has the frame to go to 140-147. It’s going to be an exciting few years.”
McGuigan praised the experience gained: “She’s very fresh to the professional game and she’s already unified champion, so very proud. She has a phenomenal amount of talent but you can’t buy experience. She’s in there with somebody that genuinely wanted to win. You need to experience that. She had a girl try and nick round after round who was quick, negative and with good boxing IQ. It was a bit wild at times but she caught her with a good shot and it was a great learning fight. She’s a sniper, a sharp-shooter.”