CAROLINE DUBOIS FLOORS TERRI HARPER TO BECOME UNIFIED WBC AND WBO CHAMPION
Caroline Dubois eyes undisputed glory after outclassing Terri Harper in a historic Most Valuable Promotions event.
Caroline Dubois finally settled things with Terri Harper, grabbing a unanimous win on Sunday and picking up the WBO lightweight belt. Now she’s a unified lightweight champion.
Walking in as the WBC titleholder, Dubois left no doubt, sweeping the scorecards: 98-91, 98-91, and 97-92.
Right after the fight, Dubois took a moment to soak in the crowd. “First of all, can I say a massive thank you to everyone? Like this atmosphere, this energy,” she told them. She didn’t hide how much support meant to her, pointing out how women’s boxing has always been left in the shadows. “Everyone who fought in the card. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.” Then she gave Harper her props, even if Harper must’ve been disappointed. “But listen, Terri had a good show, and she showed why she is a very, very, very good boxer.”
The opening rounds felt more like chess than boxing; both fighters took their time, sizing each other up. Harper moved well; Dubois struggled a bit to find her rhythm and distance.
Things really started to heat up at the end of Round 6, when Dubois cracked Harper with a clean left hand, dropping her to the canvas. The bell rang before Dubois could press her advantage, but Harper found her feet again in Round 7. Dubois, though, looked more confident, hunting for openings.
She even admitted it afterwards: “I felt like I could have gone through the gears,” Dubois said. “I don’t want to make excuses, but yeah, it doesn’t matter. Yeah, I felt like I started really well. Terri was very [tentative], and we knew she was going to be, and it was a bit tricky to get her. And the sixth round arrived, and that’s what happened.”
Round 8 delivered the fireworks that fans came to see. Both landed solid shots. Dubois kept popping her left and the jab, and a cut opened up over Harper’s left eye.
Knowing she was behind, Harper seemed to dig deeper in Rounds 9 and 10, marching straight at Dubois and turning the fight into more of a slugfest. She landed a couple of strong rights and a clean left hook right as Round 9 ended, then let her hands go in the final round, but Dubois stayed steady. It wasn’t enough to sway the judges.
Dubois got a lift, literally, after the match, heavyweight champ Claressa Shields hoisted her up as they celebrated in the ring.
So what’s next? This win opens up some huge opportunities for Dubois. She says she wants to be undisputed at 135 pounds. Stephanie Han (also with MVP) has the WBA belt but is supposed to rematch Holly Holm in May. Elif Nur Turhan owns the IBF belt and fights under Matchroom.
Dubois has even said she’d take on Alycia Baumgardner, the unified junior lightweight champ, but Baumgardner isn’t convinced Dubois is ready for that showdown, at least not yet.
TYSON FURY BLASTS ANTHONY JOSHUA AFTER DANIEL DUBOIS STOPS FABIO WARDLEY IN MANCHESTER
Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua "chinny" after Daniel Dubois secured the WBO heavyweight title against a resilient Fabio Wardley.
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Tyson Fury wasted no time after Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley this past weekend, using the moment to take a shot at Anthony Joshua.
Dubois picked up his second heavyweight title Saturday night in Manchester, grabbing the WBO belt from Wardley in a wild, bloodied battle that’s already being called a fight of the year candidate.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Dubois, though. He hit the canvas twice in the first three rounds but bounced back hard, battering Wardley late and leaving his face a mess as the final bell sounded.
Wardley never actually went down during the fight, despite looking wobbly near the end. Credit to him for sheer toughness, but Dubois still beat him decisively. This was Dubois’ first victory since his massive upset over Anthony Joshua earlier in 2024, when he floored AJ four times in one night.
On Sunday, Fury chimed in about Dubois’ latest win. With his own fight against Joshua rumoured for later this year on Netflix, Fury saw an opening to stir the pot.
“Just been thinking about Dubois’ crazy fight last night,” Fury said. Dubois fought [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, but never put him down. He fought. [Filip] Hrgovic stopped him but never put him down. Fought Wardley last night and stopped him, but didn’t put him down. He hit Usyk with bombs but didn’t drop him. But against Anthony Joshua? Drops him five times.”
Fury added, “I’m not saying Joshua’s got no chin, but facts are facts. Take it however you want. Nobody else went down, not Miller, not Hrgovic, not Usyk, not Wardley. But Joshua hits the deck five times? Chinny, get up, slink!”
Fury is coming off a comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov and has already signed on to fight Joshua this year. Joshua will warm up first against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Pregna in Saudi Arabia on July 25 before facing Fury.
Promoter Frank Warren says Fury vs. AJ will probably land in October, though Fury might want another tune-up, which could push things back a bit.
As for Dubois, he’s got options. There’s talk of a rematch with Wardley, a chance to settle the score with Usyk in a trilogy, or a domestic showdown with Moses Itauma. Dubois’ dad, Stan, told talkSPORT he’d rather see his son fight another British heavyweight next, not Usyk.
HOW DANIEL DUBOIS SURVIVED TWO KNOCKDOWNS TO STOP A BLOODY FABIO WARDLEY
"I had to dig deep." Read Daniel Dubois' full reaction to his stunning comeback victory against Fabio Wardley in Manchester.
The punch that changed everything wasn't thrown by either of the fighters.
Fabio Wardley came out blazing in his title defence, dropping Daniel Dubois just 10 seconds in. He did it again in the third round, making it look like his big night. But then, something strange happened. As Dubois got up after the fourth round, his trainer, Don Charles, slapped him hard on both cheeks.
That’s when Dubois woke up. “I had to make him realise what he needed to do,” Charles said afterwards. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you see at team-building seminars, but it worked. Dubois turned on, and suddenly Wardley’s reign started to unravel.
Wardley had picked Dubois for the first fight since collecting the WBO belt that Oleksandr Usyk dropped. Honestly, it looked like a smart pick: he dropped Dubois twice and set the tone. But after that slap, Dubois started seeing Wardley’s moves coming; those wild lunges became easier to dodge.
He landed his stiff jab and followed up with savage right hands. Wardley’s jaw somehow took the hits, but his nose was pouring blood, and his right eye was almost swollen shut. He kept pushing forward, showing crazy heart, while Dubois just kept piling on. The fight turned into a brutal spectacle, the kind you can’t look away from.
Wardley got checked twice by doctors but kept fighting. Honestly, it could've stopped before the second-to-last round, when referee Howard Foster finally stepped in. Dubois got his second world title; Wardley, battered and worn, just managed a thumbs up to his mum.
Dubois summed it up later: “I had to dig really deep. When you’re a warrior, you go to dark places. I was nervous at first, all over the place, and had to fight my own battles. That slap woke me up. My dad and everyone were in my corner; I couldn’t let them down.
“Fabio came to fight; he was tough. We were exhausted; it was a real war. I had to use all my skills to win. Great fight, great battle, and I’m No. 1 again.” Sure, Usyk might argue about that, but Dubois proved something; he got up off the canvas and won.
People have called Dubois a quitter since the Joe Joyce fight six years ago. Wardley himself thought Dubois would fold again in Manchester, and for three rounds it looked like he was right until reality snapped Dubois awake.
