Dubois ramps up Harper rivalry with 'easy night' jibe

Caroline Dubois expects “an easy night” against Terri Harper as the world champions ramped up their increasingly bitter rivalry before their 5 April showdown.

The unified lightweight title fight will take place at London’s Olympia, topping Most Valuable Promotions’ first event in the United Kingdom.

“This is the start of my future, my legacy, my greatness. I believe I’m going all the way and it starts with Terri,” said Dubois, 25.

She doubled down on calling Doncaster’s three-weight world champion “irrelevant” and described her as a “lottery” ticket to bigger fights as the pair came together at a news conference in London.

Harper, who holds a 16-2-2 record, has shared the ring with some of the sport’s best boxers, including Sandy Ryan, Cecilia Braekhus, Natasha Jonas and Alycia Baumgardner.

Having also claimed world titles at featherweight and light-middleweight, Harper accused Dubois of overlooking her.

“For me this fight isn’t about the belts. For me I just want to beat Caroline and this will be the sweetest win of my career,” said the 29-year-old.

As expected, there was no handshake or warm embrace in the face-off as Dubois – keeping in theme with the news conference – did most of the talking.

Dubois takes centre stage

All the signs beforehand have pointed to a fiery encounter between two women who share genuine animosity.

In December, Dubois accused her fellow champion of having “lost her pen” during fraught negotiations, while earlier this week Harper walked out of Sky Sports’ Gloves Are Off after a heated exchange during filming.

As Dubois smiled and took centre stage on Friday, a more reserved Harper looked slightly fed up.

Asked when the rivalry first started, she said she felt disrespected by Dubois calling her out after the loss to Ryan in 2024.

“She’s doing a great job of selling the fight. She’s doing my job for me,” added Harper.

Dubois is undefeated in 13 professional bouts – 12 wins and a draw – and made an impressive start to life under the MVP banner with a points win over Camilla Panatta in December.

Long touted as the future of British boxing, she has grown in confidence and found her voice in recent years.

“This is going to be an easy night,” said the Londoner, adding Harper’s experience “doesn’t mean anything”.

Dubois was also involved in a tense war of words with Baumgardner at a news conference in Miami late last year.

And she warned the 31-year-old American: “I’m coming for her next.”

Scotney out to make history

MVP’s British fighters (from left to right) Ellie Scotney, Caroline Dubois, Terri Harper, Chantelle Cameron and Emma Dolan will all fight on the card [PA Media]

MVP – headed up by Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul – have invested heavily in female boxing and this bill showcased the depth of their British stable.

In the co-main event, super bantamweight Ellie Scotney will face Mexico’s WBA champion Mayelli Flores Rosquero in an undisputed title fight.

They were due to fight in December before an injury to the Londoner.

“I’ve not got to pay for my mum to fly to America so my pocket is a little bit better there,” joked Scotney.

She was in good spirits as she talked about her faith and the joy of fighting on Easter Sunday with her pastor attending the contest.

“We’re bringing church to the Olympia on the night,” said the 27-year-old.

Scotney could become Britain’s fourth – and youngest – undisputed champion of the four-belt era with victory.

Northampton’s Chantelle Cameron, 34, also features on the card with an opportunity to become a two-weight world champion when she faces the unbeaten Michaela Kotaskova for the WBO light-middleweight title.

Former undisputed light-welterweight champion Cameron’s only defeat came against Ireland’s Katie Taylor in 2023, while her 34-year-old Czech opponent has two losses and 11 wins in her 13 bouts.

Norwich’s Emma Dolan, 27, will challenge vastly experienced IBF super-flyweight champion Irma Garcia for her first world title. The 44-year-old Mexican has had 35 professional contests compared to Dolan’s eight.