Alycia Baumgardner turned up to watch Caroline Dubois fight, traded insults with her at the ropes, then disappeared before the press conference. And she wonders why nobody is taking her seriously as the bigger name in this matchup.
Dubois did not hold back once Baumgardner had gone. "I think she's a coward," she said plainly, and said it twice more for good measure, adding that she wished Baumgardner had stayed so she could tell her face to face. That is not someone rattled by the attention. That is someone who senses blood.
What Actually Happened in Birmingham
[Dubois came through a unanimous decision win over Amelia Moore](/uprise/boxing/dubois-dominates-moore-before-clashing-with-baumgardner) at ringside in Birmingham on Saturday night, and Baumgardner was there watching from the crowd. In the immediate aftermath, Baumgardner made her way to the ropes, there was a tug of war over the microphone, and the pair went at each other verbally. Fine. That is boxing. That is how you build a fight.
Then Baumgardner called the performance "lacklustre" and said Dubois would need to "tighten up" if she wanted a chance of winning. Also fine. She is entitled to her take.
But she did not show up to the press conference. That is the part Dubois will not let go, and honestly, she should not. If you are going to get in someone's face at the ropes, you sit in the chair and answer questions about it. Baumgardner chose not to. Dubois noticed.
The Fight Everyone Wants
The context here matters. Baumgardner is set to challenge Elif Nur Turhan for the IBF lightweight world title on 8 November, which would put her in the same division as Dubois. Dubois, 25 and already holding a world title, pointed out that Baumgardner has not managed to lock in fights against Katie Taylor or Claressa Shields, and suggested she is "already better" than her American rival. Shields herself has accused Baumgardner of being "scared" of Dubois, something Baumgardner dismissed by calling Shields "jealous."
MVP founder Jake Paul says his side are "100 per cent ready to go when they want to sign the contracts," which is the kind of statement that means very little until pen meets paper. Dubois was also measured enough to point out that Turhan should not be written off on 8 November, which is worth noting given how this whole thing gets framed as a foregone conclusion.
There is a secondary option floating around too. Stephanie Han recently defended her WBA lightweight title with a majority decision win over Holly Holm. Dubois attended that press conference, called Han out openly, and said Han promised the fight would happen. Dubois said she intends to hold her to it.
The contrast with Baumgardner's no-show was obviously deliberate on Dubois' part, and it landed.
Our Take
This feud has genuine heat to it, and Dubois is handling it better than her opponent right now. Baumgardner showed up to make noise and then left before she had to justify herself. That is not how you build credibility as the supposed bigger name. Dubois called it correctly: this is the biggest fight in women's boxing. The question is whether Baumgardner actually wants it, or just wants the attention that comes with being linked to it.