Caroline Dubois Dominates Amelia Moore in Points Victory
Caroline Dubois barely broke stride, let alone a sweat.
Under the lights at BP Pulse Arena in Birmingham, the WBC and WBO lightweight champion walked Amelia Moore down, banked the rounds and kept her long-term collision course with Alycia Baumgardner firmly intact with a dominant points win.
The scorecards told the story: 99-90, 99-90, 98-91. One-way traffic.
Dubois in cruise control
Dubois entered as the heavy favourite and boxed like it. She owned the centre of the ring, dictated the tempo and, for long spells, treated Moore less like a live challenger and more like a stubborn problem to be managed.
The breakthrough came in the fifth. A booming left hand crashed through and sent Moore to the canvas. The American bounced straight back up, defiant, but the gap in class had been laid bare. From that point, Dubois moved her around the ring at will, prodding, pressing, punishing – a cat toying with a mouse that refused to quit.
Moore, in just her fifth professional fight, showed all the grit you would expect from a two-time US national champion. She bit down, survived, and never stopped trying to answer back. What she didn’t have was the nuance or experience to trouble a champion who has boxed 70 more professional rounds and knows exactly how to control danger, even while giving away four inches in height.
If there was a criticism of Dubois, it lay in the manner of the finish that never came. She leaned on power and physical presence, walked Moore down and dominated, but never quite shifted through the gears to force the stoppage. The fight went the distance with an air of inevitability.
Unbeaten now in 15 professional bouts, with 14 wins on her record, Dubois left with her belts, her aura, and her future plans intact.
Baumgardner feud ignites at ringside
The real heat arrived after the final bell.
Alycia Baumgardner, watching on a self-described “scouting mission,” wasted no time in picking holes in what she’d just seen. She accused Dubois of “tightening up” and looking “tired,” jabbing at the champion’s performance from her vantage point at ringside.
Dubois didn’t blink. The new, MVP-polished version of her – louder, brasher, unapologetically self-assured – snapped straight back. She reminded Baumgardner that this is “my division – I am the best here,” in an expletive-laced exchange that underlined just how personal this rivalry has become.
The pair have been sniping at each other for a year, trading barbs at a distance and, more recently, across duelling media conferences in Birmingham to promote their separate fights. On Saturday night, that needle finally had a live backdrop: Dubois in the ring, Baumgardner studying every move, both women knowing exactly where this is supposed to lead.
The roadmap is clear. Baumgardner, the unified super-featherweight champion, must first step up to lightweight and deal with IBF title-holder Elif Nur Turhan in Texas on 8 November. She has already said she “absolutely” wants Dubois after that. If she delivers, the expectation is simple: Dubois v Baumgardner, headlining another MVP showcase, with the spotlight firmly on women’s boxing.
New trainer, same ambition
Dubois’ edge on Saturday was not just physical. It was strategic.
She has ripped up a winning formula, leaving Shane McGuigan in London – the trainer who steered her to two world titles at lightweight – and relocating to Los Angeles to work with respected US coach Manny Robles. It is a bold switch for a reigning champion, the kind of decision usually made by a fighter who believes there is still another level to reach.
Against Moore, Dubois looked comfortable rather than spectacular, but the control, composure and ring generalship were unmistakable. The real test of the Robles partnership will come if Baumgardner does her part and that long-talked-about showdown finally lands in 2027.
Harper roars back at welterweight
Earlier on the card, Terri Harper reminded everyone she is far from finished.
The former opponent of Dubois, beaten on points by the champion in April, stepped up to welterweight and dismantled Miranda Reyes in a must-win fight that she later called “one of the best performances of my career.”
Harper had stared down retirement thoughts after losing to Sandy Ryan in 2024. That doubt never resurfaced after Dubois beat her, but the pressure in Birmingham was real. Lose again, and the road back to the top would have looked brutally long.
She walked to the ring in bright yellow gloves, buzzing with energy, and carried that charge straight into the opening bell. Harper seized the centre of the ring, dug in heavy body shots and set a ruthless tone.
The second round didn’t last long.
A sustained attack downstairs folded Reyes over, and a short left hook dropped the Houston fighter. Harper pounced, dropped her again in quick succession, and left the referee with no choice. The fight was waved off just 47 seconds into the second round, her corner in matching yellow erupting as the stoppage was confirmed.
It was the seventh knockout of Harper’s career, her 17th win in 22 bouts, and the kind of emphatic statement that resets a narrative.
“You can’t get rid of me this easily,” she said afterwards, grinning. “It’s way too early [to say goodbye] – I’ve got a lot to give yet.”
On a night built around Dubois’ steady march towards a blockbuster with Baumgardner, Harper’s resurgence served as a sharp reminder: in this corner of women’s boxing, careers are not winding down. They’re gearing up.
