Caroline Dubois did exactly what champions are supposed to do. She walked into Birmingham as the favourite, kept her belts, and walked out with the rivalry she really cares about burning even hotter.
Under the lights at BP Pulse Arena, Dubois coolly outclassed Amelia Moore to retain her WBC and WBO lightweight titles, winning a unanimous decision by margins of 99-90, 99-90 and 98-91. It was one-way traffic, occasionally brutal, often calculated, and always under her control.
Dubois dominates, but can’t close the show
From the opening bell, Dubois fought like a woman who knew she belonged on a bigger stage. She pressed forward, took the centre of the ring, and used her physicality to bully Moore around the ropes. The American, in just her fifth professional fight, arrived with a solid amateur pedigree and two national titles, but quickly discovered the gap between respectable and elite.
The fifth round told the story. Dubois uncorked a booming left hand that sent Moore crashing to the canvas, the champion finally turning pressure into damage. Moore popped straight back up, defiant, but the pattern was set. Dubois stalked, her opponent retreated. The Briton moved her around the ring at will, like a cat toying with a mouse that refused to stop scratching back.
Moore’s toughness kept her in it. Her quality did not. She showed heart, grit, and a refusal to fold, but never the weapons to truly trouble Dubois. The difference in experience was stark: Dubois has boxed 70 more professional rounds than the American, and it showed in the way she managed distance, angles and risk. Even with a four-inch height disadvantage, she stayed clear of danger, slipping shots, resetting, then walking Moore down again.
What Dubois did not find was the finish. Her reliance on power, presence and physical dominance, rather than hand speed and volume, meant the fight settled into a long, almost inevitable march to the scorecards. The result was never in doubt; the knockout, despite that fifth-round knockdown, never quite came.
Ringside needle: Dubois vs Baumgardner ignites
If the fight felt inevitable, the real spark came after the final bell.
Alycia Baumgardner, the unified super-featherweight champion, sat ringside on what she called a “scouting mission.” She did not leave quietly. As Dubois celebrated, the American lit into her, accusing the champion of “tightening up” and looking “tired” down the stretch. Dubois, in no mood to play polite host, fired straight back.
Her new MVP-honed persona was front and centre: brash, loud, unapologetically sure of herself. She accused Baumgardner of stepping into “my division – I am the best here,” with the kind of expletive-laced bite that made clear this is no manufactured feud. The pair have been sniping for a year, trading barbs in interviews and on social media. Now the animosity has a date attached to it.
The roadmap is simple. Dubois, now unbeaten in 15 professional fights with 14 wins, is expected to face Baumgardner next year – if the American can first take care of business. Baumgardner must move up to lightweight and beat IBF champion Elif Nur Turhan in Texas on 8 November. She has already said she “absolutely” wants Dubois. If she comes through, the two should top another MVP showcase of women’s boxing in 2027, with all the trimmings of a genuine grudge match.
New trainer, same edge
Away from the noise, Dubois is quietly reshaping the machinery behind the swagger. She has made a bold call outside the ring, parting ways with Shane McGuigan in London – the trainer who guided her to those two lightweight world titles – and relocating to Los Angeles to work with respected US coach Manny Robles.
It is a clear statement of intent. New environment, new voice in the corner, same ambition: to move from champion to star, from domestic headliner to global attraction. Nights like Birmingham, where she dominates a tough but overmatched challenger and still leaves room for improvement, only sharpen that narrative.
The belts are secure. The personality is louder. The stakes, if Baumgardner handles her own business, are about to rise.
Harper roars back at welterweight
Earlier on the card, Terri Harper delivered her own kind of statement.
The former world champion, who lost on points to Dubois in April, began her rebuild with a ruthless stoppage win over Miranda Reyes, then called it “one of the best performances of my career.” After a bruising defeat to Sandy Ryan in 2024, Harper had flirted with retirement. That conversation is over.
She stepped up to welterweight for this one, fully aware it was a must-win to stay relevant among the sport’s top names. From the moment she bounced into the ring in bright yellow gloves, she looked like a fighter who had made peace with the pressure and decided to embrace it.
Harper owned the first round. She held the centre, dictated the pace, and dug in heavy body shots that started to drain Reyes early. Then she slammed the door in the second. A sharp flurry to the body folded the Houston fighter, and a short left hook dumped her on the canvas. When Harper dropped her again moments later, the referee stepped in, waving it off just 47 seconds into the round as Harper’s yellow-clad corner erupted.
“You can’t get rid of me this easily,” she said afterwards, grinning, the doubt washed away. It was the seventh knockout of her career, her 17th win in 22 bouts, and a timely reminder that she still has the power and poise to hurt opponents at world level.
On a night built around Dubois’ dominance and a simmering super-fight, Harper’s resurgence added another layer. Women’s boxing is stacking names, grudges and storylines. Now the question is simple: when Baumgardner steps through the ropes at lightweight, will Dubois still be toying with challengers – or finally forced into a fight where the ending is anything but inevitable?
