Caroline Dubois is plotting her route to an undisputed lightweight championship and has no intention of sitting idle while waiting for her next major test. The British champion is eyeing a unification clash with American rival Alycia Baumgardner in 2027, but first wants to collect another belt by facing WBA title-holder Stephanie Han before the year's end.
Baumgardner will contest the IBF lightweight world title against undefeated champion Elif Nur Turhan on November 8 in Arlington, Texas, with the bout broadcast live on Sky Sports. According to Most Valuable Promotions, the fight will take place over 10 rounds at 135 pounds as part of a four-fight world-title card.
Dubois, who holds the unified WBC and WBO 135lb titles, has made her ambitions crystal clear. She intends to become undisputed champion and is determined to remain active in the meantime rather than wait on the sidelines for the winner of the Turhan-Baumgardner contest.
I want to become undisputed and I want to be involved in relevant fights. To unify the division is my dream right now. The only other champion [available] is Han and we'll just have to see if I can get it in before the end of the year. If not we'll have to go early next year.
Dubois told Sky Sports of her strategy to add the WBA belt to her collection.
Hopefully we'll be unified world champion by the end of this year or early next. One belt away from becoming undisputed.
The 27-year-old successfully defended her titles against Amelia Moore in Birmingham last month, improving her unbeaten record to 15 professional fights. According to BBC Sport, a potential Dubois-Baumgardner undisputed showdown is being eyed for 2027 should the American defeat Turhan.
Dubois fires back at Baumgardner's mindset
The tension between Dubois and Baumgardner has intensified dramatically since their ringside confrontation in Birmingham. Dubois publicly confronted Baumgardner at ringside in late August, with the British fighter branding her American counterpart a coward and escalating their rivalry into a live promotional face-off.
Dubois has now doubled down on her assessment of Baumgardner's mental state ahead of the Turhan bout.
She's most definitely intimidated by me. She's frightened of what I bring to the table. When she looks at me I know that she sees a younger, better, stronger, more talented, more everything better than her. Everything I do is just better than her. I feel like she's threatened by that.
The British champion believes her rapid rise to the top has fuelled Baumgardner's insecurity.
Everything that she has had to work so hard to get I've had it and I've achieved it in such quick succession. She's threatened, she's jealous. She's feeling a lot of emotions and all I can say is I hope she can focus herself, get that win [over Turhan] and we can find out who's the best.
Dubois is adamant that Baumgardner must defeat Turhan if their showdown is to materialise.
I hope she wins the fight. I'm going to be real upset if she doesn't win because I need to show her something.
Elif Turhan, the champion, versus Alycia Baumgardner, the contender, is going to be an awesome fight. I want the winner. I've made it very clear. I feel like I have been very vocal about the fact that I want to become undisputed.
The path has revealed itself to me. The path has become clear now... So close, but so far.
What comes next
Baumgardner, who holds a record of 18 wins, 1 loss and 1 no-contest according to BBC Sport coverage, will move up to lightweight for her challenge to Turhan. The November 8 showdown in Arlington represents a significant step up in competition for the American fighter.
Should Baumgardner emerge victorious, the stage will be set for a blockbuster undisputed championship clash with Dubois in 2027. The potential matchup has been framed by multiple outlets as one of the biggest fights in women's boxing, reflecting its cross-division significance and the intensity of the personal rivalry between the two champions.
Before that potential super-fight materialises, Dubois remains focused on her immediate objective: securing a unification bout with Stephanie Han. The WBA title-holder represents the final piece of the undisputed puzzle, and Dubois is targeting a late-2026 or early-2027 timeline for that encounter.
