Caroline Dubois retained her WBC and WBO lightweight world titles with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Amelia Moore at MVPW-06 in Birmingham on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Londoner was rarely troubled throughout a commanding performance, earning scores of 99-90, 99-90 and 98-91 from the judges in the co-main event.
Following her victory, Dubois immediately engaged in a heated ringside war of words with former undisputed champion Alycia Baumgardner ahead of a potential blockbuster super-fight. Baumgardner will step into the lightweight division when she fights Elif Nur Turhan on November 8.
Baumgardner had made her presence felt all week in Birmingham, quizzing former rival Mikaela Mayer at her final press conference and reiterating her belief that Dubois is not yet at her level. Watching from ringside, Baumgardner mocked the champion's display.
"That was a lacklustre performance," said Baumgardner. "You gotta tighten up baby girl. You was tired baby. You was real tired. I'm gonna show you what a champ do Undisputed champ at that. I'm at lightweight now."
Dubois fired back directly at her American rival.
"I've been calling for this for a long time," Dubois said. "After the last fight I said move up and fight that bum? What's happened to Amanda Serrano? What happened to Katie Taylor? What happened to Claressa Shields? You haven't got anything you've asked for. I got what I asked for. You are moving up to my division. I'm the best in the division and you know it. I'm 25 and I'm better than you."
"I love that. Keep that energy," Dubois added. "If you get through Elif Nur Turhan, me and you there's no denying it. Everything I've asked for has happened. I'm knocking this bum out, you'd better believe it."
Dubois dominates round by round
In the ring, Dubois asserted herself on the front foot early, taking control of the distance against Moore's lengthy reach with a lightning flurry of body shots in the first round.
The Londoner sought to find her range in the second round against the counter-shot approach of Moore, closing the two minutes with an overhand right to the head of her opponent.
Dubois continued to control the tempo of the fight in rounds three and four, turning to the body of the well-conditioned Moore, who struggled to find her target against the champion's sharp movement.
A defining flashpoint came in round five when Dubois found the breakthrough with a knockdown, which appeared to be caused more by Moore losing her balance than the champion's power. Still, Dubois worked to capitalise as she resumed with a fierce attack capped by a right hook.
Dubois landed again with sharp hooks to the head of Moore in round seven, before breaching the American's guard with a crisp straight left. Blood began to trickle from the nose of Moore in round eight as Dubois sustained her dominance despite a late front foot attack from the challenger in the ninth round.
Moore was in the wars again in the tenth and final round when she sustained a cut during an accidental clash of heads.
Harper makes explosive return
On the undercard, Doncaster super lightweight Terri Harper marked her return to the ring in style with a clinical second-round stoppage victory against Houston's Miranda Reyes. It was Harper's first fight since her defeat to Dubois in April.
The Doncaster fighter initially floored Reyes with a beautifully-timed left hand, from which the American continued to look unsteady as she returned to her feet.
Harper quickly finished the contest with a flurry of hooks followed by a punishing right hand to put Reyes down for a second time, leaving promoter Jake Paul amazed at ringside. Reyes returned to her feet yet again, only for the referee to rightly wave off the contest.
"One of the best performances of my career. I'm very happy with that," Harper told Sky Sports. "It's good to do that to build the fight up, but you can't get rid of me that easily! This journey that I've been on through my boxing career, the highs and lows, I'm just grateful for MVP bringing me back so soon after my last fight. I've got a lot more to give you!"
Tellez edges thrilling battle
American featherweight Reina Tellez delivered a ferocious performance to out-gun Jessica Barry in a thrilling points victory in their featherweight match. Tellez, who notably fought Amanda Serrano at 15 days' notice in January, landed the cleaner, more eye-catching shots in a straight fire fight to claim a 96-94 win.
The 23-year-old controlled the exchanges for much of the first four rounds, using fast hands, accuracy and power to find the head of Barry time and time again. Barry continued to come forward and came back into the fight in the fifth round as she landed a flush uppercut.
An undeterred Tellez was deducted a point in round six for a low blow before launching back into an assault and landing a brutal right hand in the eighth round to trouble Barry. Barry showed her toughness and continued to meet fire with fire, but Tellez prevailed with superior output and full-blooded attacks.
"I feel a little bit of ring rust, but overall I feel great," Tellez told Sky Sports. "There were things that happened in the fight, but that's what comes with experience. I'm grateful for the platform and opportunity I've been given. She showed a lot of heart. A good opponent with a different style. I give her respect. But overall I dominated the fight."
Gallagher wins on MVP debut
Also on the card, Tysie Gallagher celebrated her Most Valuable Promotions debut with a points victory over Chicago's Brandi Robinson to improve her professional record to 11-2.
"I'm not particularly happy about the performance, couldn't really get going, first one back, no excuses," Gallagher said after the fight. "I'll be back 100 per cent next time."
