Caroline Dubois floored a bloodied Terri Harper before outpointing her British rival to become the unified lightweight world champion at London’s Olympia.
After a dull first half of the contest, Dubois dropped Harper with a classy jab and left hook in the sixth round.
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Doncaster’s Harper, who suffered a nasty cut after a clash of heads in the eighth, showed great spirit to continue throwing until the final round.
The judges scored the fight 98-91, 97-92 and 98-91 to Dubois, who adds Harper’s WBO belt to her WBC title.
“I tried to up the tempo, but Terri is very tricky; she navigated herself very well and it was up to me to push the pace,” Dubois told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I feel like I dropped off towards the end, but I’m getting better every time.
“She is a champion and she doesn’t like to lose but neither do I. The better woman won tonight and I hope she can give me my respect.”
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The event marked the first United Kingdom show staged by Most Valuable Promotions as Londoner Dubois extended her unbeaten record to 13 wins and one draw.
Harper – a three-weight world champion – drops to 16 wins, three defeats and two draws.
A fight of two halves but a deserved winner
World championship boxing returned to the historic Kensington venue for the first time in decades. Olympia had previously staged headline fights involving stars such as Chris Eubank Jr and Prince Naseem Hamed.
Harper strode towards the centre of the 19th-Century grand hall, buoyed by her travelling Yorkshire faithful.
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Dubois, who once pretended to be a boy named Colin so she could be allowed to box, also received a warm reception as she entered to I’m Every Woman by Whitney Houston.
The fight had been a long time coming, and the rivalry had grown increasingly tense in the build-up. Dubois repeatedly questioned Harper’s achievements and credentials, while Harper shoved Dubois during a fiery media face-off earlier in the week.
By the halfway stage, however, the contest had not quite lived up to the hype, with Dubois edging the rounds through steady work to the body.
Then, suddenly, the fight came alive. Dubois set up a knockdown with a sharp double jab followed by a left hook, sending Harper to the canvas.
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Harper rose to her feet as Dubois leapt in celebration, prompting the referee to warn her for failing to return to her corner.
Dubois increased the pressure. She landed thudding southpaw left hands in the seventh and eighth as blood began to drip from a cut on the inside of ‘Belter’ Harper’s left eye.
Watching from ringside was pound-for-pound star Claressa Shields.
A strong combination from Dubois in the ninth suggested a stoppage might be imminent, but Harper rallied to land shots to Dubois’ head in the 10th and final round.
More to follow.
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