Caroline Dubois continued to taunt Terri Harper on Friday as tensions escalated during their final pre-fight press conference ahead of Sunday's title unification bout at London's Olympia. Dubois will defend her WBC lightweight belt against Harper, who holds the WBO title, in the main event of a women-centric card that also features Chantelle Cameron, Ellie Scotney and Emma Dolan.
The unbeaten Dubois, 25, took aim at her 29-year-old rival after Harper described her own fighting style as an "engine". "That's it? That's a bit sad," Dubois said. "I'd hate to be going into a fight thinking: 'All I've got is an engine.' That's a bit scary." Harper responded by suggesting Dubois would bring "a mouth" into the ring.
Harper, a three-weight champion who has remained noticeably quieter in the build-up, also said: "You can turn my mic off, Caroline's going to do my talking for me," and insisted: "I do not want, I do not need Caroline's respect." Earlier, Dubois had stated: "I believe that respect is earned, never given. From my side, there is no animosity."
Dubois, who has a record of 12 wins, one draw and five knockouts, predicted she would win inside seven rounds. "There is no way my hand is not getting raised on Sunday," she said. Harper, 16-2-2 with six stoppages, retorted: "Caroline needs to hope there's a knockout, otherwise she knows she's in trouble."
Sunday's event will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and is organised by Most Valuable Promotions, the company founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian.
