Caroline Dubois: Alycia Baumgardner ‘most definitely’ scared | ‘Bo Mi Re Shin will expose what I know and what I see’
Caroline Dubois claimed Alycia Baumgardner is “most definitely” scared of fighting her later this year.
Dubois has launched a war of words with the American after beating Terri Harper earlier this month to unify the WBC and WBO lightweight world championships.
Baumgardner is in action this weekend, defending her IBF, WBO and WBA super-featherweight titles against Bo Mi Re Shin in New York, live on Sky Sports from 3am on Saturday morning.
Dubois has made it clear she wants to meet Baumgardner in a high-profile clash, but believes her American rival will struggle with Shin.
“She’s fighting one of my opponents that I’ve already beaten,” Dubois told Sky Sports. “I want her to win the fight. I think she’s a huge name and she does all the right things promotion-wise and build up-wise. That’s why people want to fight her. I want to see her win the fight.”
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Caroline Dubois says she will not look desperate chasing a fight with Katie Taylor as the Irish boxing legend will never accept the challenge.
But Dubois added: “Knowing how tough Bo is, I think it will be a hard fight. I think Bo will expose what I know and what I see. But I hope she can pull through it and have the better skills and win the fight.”
The Londoner is cranking up the pressure on Baumgardner to agree to box her.
“She doesn’t want the fight,” Dubois said. “Every time you hear Alycia Baumgardner, the name that is constantly coming up in the comments is Caroline Dubois. She says that there’s bigger fights elsewhere but every time people associate Alycia, they associate her with me.
“They’re calling for Alycia versus Caroline Dubois. I don’t know why we shouldn’t give the fans what they want. It’s a great fight. It’s going to be down to whether MVP [their promoter] want the fight and whether she can finally find her [courage].”
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Unified super-featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner insisted Caroline Dubois is avoiding a fight with her.
Like she did with Harper, Dubois will continue her verbal assault unabashed.
“I don’t think I play the villain. I think I play confidence and people are triggered by that. I play confident. I am myself. I knew I was a better fighter than Terri Harper,” the Briton said.
“I don’t think I’m being a villain. I’m just saying the truth. I’m saying how I feel and I’m not afraid to say it. A lot of people feel ways leading up to the fight but they don’t have the courage or the heart to say it. Because if they lose then they’re going to get called out for it.
“I just have to be me and if people want to be triggered by that, that’s up to them.”
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Highlights from Caroline Dubois’ clash with Terri Harper for the WBC and WBO lightweight title.
Dubois will have other options if the fight with Baumgardner can’t be made. There are other champions at lightweight for her to box. Stephanie Han and Holly Holm fight for the WBA title on May 30 while unbeaten, hard-punching Elif Nur Turhan holds the IBF championship at 135lbs.
Rather than waiting for the Han-Holm winner, Dubois would like to box Turhan next.
“I don’t think she’s a good fighter but she’s a very dangerous fighter. I don’t think the fight is a hard fight but I think it’s a dangerous fight. That’s what makes it exciting,” Dubois said.
“I want to continue my own progression,” she concluded. “I want to be involved in the biggest fights. I obviously want to create a great legacy for myself. I’ve unified and I would love to do it again.”
Watch Alycia Baumgardner vs Bo Mi Re Shin live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 3am on Saturday morning.