Caroline Dubois Aiming for Undisputed Status in Boxing

Caroline Dubois has her eyes locked on undisputed status – and she wants to fight her way there, not wait for it to land in her lap.

The 23-year-old already holds the WBC and WBO lightweight titles at 135lbs, but the belt collection is only half-finished in her mind. The missing pieces sit with Stephanie Han, the WBA champion, and the winner of Alycia Baumgardner vs Elif Nur Turhan for the IBF crown.

Dubois wants all of them.

Dubois refuses to wait on Baumgardner

On November 9, Baumgardner travels to face IBF title-holder Elif Nur Turhan, live on Sky Sports, with the American looking to reclaim a world title at lightweight. That fight will decide one corner of the undisputed puzzle.

Dubois expects to be waiting in the opposite corner.

She has made it clear she intends to fight the winner for the undisputed championship next year, but she has no intention of sitting idle while the IBF situation plays out. Her plan is more aggressive than that: take Han’s WBA belt first, then walk into an undisputed showdown with three titles already strapped around her waist.

“I want to become undisputed and I want to be involved in relevant fights. To unify the division is my dream right now,” Dubois told Sky Sports, outlining Han as the obvious next target. “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.

“Hopefully we'll be unified world champion by the end of this year or early next. One belt away from becoming undisputed.”

The ambition is blunt. So is the timeline.

Words as sharp as her jab

Dubois comes into this phase of her career off a confident title defence against Amelia Moore in Birmingham last month. She kept her belts, extended her momentum – and then lit the fuse for a rivalry.

The final bell had barely stopped echoing before she and Baumgardner were locked in a fierce verbal exchange. If there were any doubts about how personal this could become, Dubois has done her best to erase them.

“She's most definitely intimidated by me. She's frightened of what I bring to the table,” Dubois said. “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 words didn’t soften from there.

“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.

“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.”

For Dubois, Baumgardner is not just another name on the list. She is the rival that validates the reign.

One path, three names, all the belts

While the spotlight falls on Baumgardner’s trip to face Turhan, Dubois is already looking at the wider board. She sees the IBF champion – whoever emerges from that fight – as only one stop on a route that now looks tantalisingly close.

“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,” Dubois said. “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.”

First, she wants Stephanie Han and the WBA title. Then, the winner of Turhan vs Baumgardner for the IBF. No tune-ups. No detours.

Dubois can already see the finish line. The only question now is who’s still standing in front of her when she gets there.