CAROLINE Dubois firmly believes that a unification showdown with Terri Harper, her domestic rival and fellow world lightweight champion, will arrive in the not-too-distant future.
The pair have been on a collision course for a number of months, and with both looking to reign supreme at 135lbs, it only makes sense for them to duke it out in an all-British dustup.
Dubois, 11-0-1 (5 KOs), comes off two back-to-back WBC title defences, where both results, in truth, did little to reflect the dominant nature of her performances.
The first – a third-round technical draw – emerged after a cut over the left eye of Jessica Camara, who was getting handily beaten up to that point, led to an abrupt conclusion.
Dubois then orchestrated another one-sided display just under two months later, only for one judge – who scored it a draw – to deny her a unanimous decision victory over Bo Mi Re Shin.
In any case, though, the 24-year-old remains eager to unify her division before eventually targeting the remaining champions in a bid to become the undisputed lightweight queen.
As for WBO titlist Harper, 16-2-2 (6 KOs), she too has expressed a desire to collect more belts after dethroning Rhiannon Dixon and, in turn, becoming a two-division world champion.
In her last outing, meanwhile, the 28-year-old cruised to a comprehensive points victory over Natalie Zimmermann, a vastly overmatched opponent, several weeks ago.
Yet Dubois, it is fair to say, remains largely unimpressed ahead of their potential clash later this year.
“I’m confident that it will happen,” she told Boxing News. “The only person who could prevent it from happening, I believe, is Terri Harper.
“Before her last fight, she was saying she can’t wait to punch me in the face, and that I’ve rubbed her up the wrong way.
“But after that abysmal performance [against Zimmerman], she didn’t even want to mention my name. So I’m a little bit worried about that, because it takes two to tango.
“If the fight doesn’t happen, it would be down to her. But I see that, in her last three fights, she’s faced southpaws. So, in my mind, I’m thinking that she’s trying to prepare herself for me.”
A more spiteful approach was expressed before Dubois’ last fight, too, as she did not hesitate when explaining exactly what she intended to do to her opponent.
The moniker ‘Sweet Caroline,’ in that sense, could not be further removed from the truth whenever she steps through the ropes.
“I think it’s always been there, and you’re probably going to see more of that side of me,” Dubois said.
“It’s not necessarily about intimidating my opponent; it’s just about letting them know what I’m about. Come fight day, I’m locked in. I’m there to take your head off your shoulders.
“I’ve got that intensity, that spite, and that mean streak inside of me. Come fight week, that’s when it all comes out.”
