Exclusive interview: Dubois is aiming to add to her WBC title, fresh off a victory on the Paul vs Joshua undercard
Caroline Dubois is dialling up the pressure on Terri Harper in a bid to collect another world title.
Dubois took the next step in her career in December, signing with Jake Paul’s company Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) before fighting on the undercard of the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s loss to Anthony Joshua.
By outpointing Camilla Panatta, Dubois retained the WBC lightweight title and remained unbeaten (12-0-1, 5 knockouts), and she is now eyeing a title-unification bout.
Also holding belts in the division are WBA champion Stephanie Han, IBF title-holder Elif Nur Turhan, and WBO champ Harper. And it’s Harper who is occupying the attention of her fellow Briton, Dubois.
“I’ve been calling out Terri for a while now, and she would know that’s the fight I want,” Dubois, 24, told The Independent. “We’re both British fighters, we both represent the same things, we both have a belt, we’re both on the same platform and promotion, so it makes so much sense for us to fight next.
“I’ve been calling for it for a while, you know? She just has to see that and make it happen. At the end of the day, I can’t drag anyone into the ring, I can’t force them to do anything. They have to agree to it, and that’s the amazing thing about boxing.
“I imagine that from my side, I will be going 100 per cent for the Terri Harper fight. It’s just on her side to agree and accept.”
Dubois became WBC champion in December 2024, when Katie Taylor vacated the regular title. She has since retained the belt against Jessica Camara, against whom she drew, and Bo Mi Re Shin and Panatta – both of whom she outpointed.
Still, the young Briton is highly touted and has not had the chance to test herself against the kind of names that fans and pundits desire. But Dubois is trying to find a balance of applying pressure and maintaining patience.
“I believe what is for you is for you, and what isn’t for you is always gonna pass you by,” she said. “So, don’t rush it. I’m only 24, so there’s literally no rush. I know there are big fights on the horizon and I’m on the cusp now.
“I can’t step back and continue fighting people that people don’t know. I have to step up and fight big names, I have to unify the division. I imagine that the big fights are coming, and when I say that, I mean next – names that people are really excited for. I genuinely feel that way.
“I think there’s gonna be some really huge fights for women’s boxing, for boxing, and my name will be involved in that mix. So, I don’t feel any frustration or anything, I know it’s coming.”
Dubois’s win in December not only marked her debut under the MVP banner but also her US debut, as she took to the ring in Miami, Florida. Furthermore, the fight marked her debut on Netflix, which reportedly drew over 30m viewers for Paul’s sixth-round defeat by Joshua.
“It was amazing to fight on that card,” Dubois said. “It was really cool, very surreal. [But] I’d say that, because I didn’t really know a lot of the fighters on the card, I was very good at focusing on my own fight, so it never overawed me or made me feel overwhelmed.
“When I got out there, I kept expecting the weigh-in, the press conference, all of that stuff [to give me] an ‘oh, my God’ moment. But once I got there, it just became another day. I was relaxed.
“I guess it comes from the fact that I fought on Sky Sports. I guess we underestimate how big a platform that is. I’ve fought on really big platforms, and that helped prep me for fighting on Netflix.”
Dubois’s deal with MVP, which follows her exit from Boxxer, could mean more US outings and fewer on home soil, but she said: “Potentially. I hope not. I hope I still have the opportunities to fight at home.
“But I know MVP are not only trying to be an American promotion, they’re trying to branch out like the other massive promotions – Matchroom, Queensberry. I’m certain that they’ll do that; they’ve signed so many British fighters, it makes sense to do a show in England.”
Category: General Sports
