CAROLINE Dubois has set her sights on an all-British unification with WBO world lightweight champion Terri Harper after suffering the first blemish of her professional career.
The 24-year-old collided with seasoned operator Jessica Camara last Saturday, making the first defence of her WBC strap at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield, England.
Dubois, 10-0-1 (5 KOs), who previously held the interim title, was elevated to full champion after Irish phenom Katie Taylor vacated the green and gold belt.
Sure enough, the Olympian looked on track to secure an emphatic victory against Camara, maintaining her control after scoring a blistering first-round knockdown.
But then, the one-sided bout was halted in the third round following an accidental clash of heads, resulting in a technical draw due to a nasty cut above Camara’s left eye.
Still, despite the lack of a conclusive ending, Dubois proved that she is more than ready to roll the dice against her fellow champions.
A unification, in fact, could arrive as soon as March 7, when ‘Sweet Caroline’ expects to enter her next assignment on the undercard of Natasha Jonas vs Lauren Price.
“We got the Royal Albert Hall show coming up,” Dubois told Sky Sports. “That’s in London. Terri’s from England, I’m from England. It’s a domestic showdown. It makes sense. I don’t see why not.
“Fight me, you’re going to get beat but you’re going to get a big show, you’re going to get good pay, it’s going to make it worthwhile.”
Harper, 15-2-2 (6 KOs), claimed her WBO strap after comprehensively outpointing Rhiannon Dixon back in September, bouncing back from a devastating defeat to Sandy Ryan in truly impressive fashion.
IBF titlist Beatriz Ferreira, meanwhile, represents another possible option for Dubois, who insists that she will become the undisputed queen at 135 lbs.
In order for her to realise that ambition, though, Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom must strike a deal with Eddie Hearn, who promotes both Harper and Ferreira.
