Terri Harper has lost her composure ahead of Sunday’s world title unification, reckons rival champion Caroline Dubois.
Harper jostled Dubois with her elbow as they posed for photos after their final press conference.
Dubois angrily pushed her back as security had to hastily step between them to prevent the situation from escalating.
It was the latest outburst of hostility between the two champions, who put their WBO and WBC lightweight titles on line this Sunday at Kensington’s Olympia, live on Sky Sports.
Harper’s elbow shove was a response to Dubois flexing in front of her after their face-offs, with tensions growing more strained as the fight gets closer.
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Johnny Nelson breaks down the pre-fight bad blood between Terri Harper and Caroline Dubois ahead of Sunday’s WBC and WBO lightweight unification bout.
Dubois scoffed at Harper for acting out of character. “She’s trying to replicate me,” Dubois told Sky Sports. “She’s trying to pretend. She’s seeing my energy and going ‘I need to fight against this. I need to go against it’. She’s trying to be me.
“I don’t want to read into that. That’s not important. What’s important is the fight night. Coming up here today I feel very confident, very confident.”
She’s convinced Harper is in fact afraid of her. “100 percent,” Dubois said.
During their staredown Dubois kept up the personal dialogue. “I was saying: ‘I’m coming. I’m coming.’ That’s it. That’s the energy,” she revealed.
“I’m that nightmare. I’m that bogeywoman. I’m something that is on her mind and I’m coming.”
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The bad blood between Caroline Dubois and Terri Harper continued at the media workouts with both fighters giving their version of Wednesday’s face-off shove.
‘Terri had to show a bit of backbone’
Trainer Shane McGuigan believes the pushing, nudging and needling will all fuel Dubois when it comes to the fight.
“She loves it. She absolutely loves it,” McGuigan told Sky Sports. “I don’t think she needs any fire in this fight.
“It’s just going to elicit a little more hunger if there is any.”
He added: “Terri… I think she had to show a little bit of backbone because she knew that she was under attack. It’s good that she’s up for a fight.”
Dubois will look to be dangerous. “We want to win by knockout,” McGuigan said, though he acknowledged that could be hard.
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Tensions were high between Terri Harper and Caroline Dubois as the pair get ever closer to their unification bout on Sunday.
“I do think she [Harper] was a bit weight-drained when she boxed Alycia [Baumgardner]. I think this weight will suit her more. Sandy Ryan obviously stopped her, that was an accumulation of punches. I think she will hold a better shot, it’s probably her more natural weight at lightweight,” the trainer said.
“She was too small for 147lbs and I think she boxed as high as 154lbs. I believe that she’ll be the best prepared she’s been and she can be awkward, so we’ve got to break it down slowly.
“Caroline… I think when she lands clean she’ll definitely have an impact. Whether she’ll knock her out or not, we might have to start putting some combinations and phases together.
“She wants to clean up the division and make big fights.”
Watch Caroline Dubois vs Terri Harper this Sunday live on Sky Sports from 7pm.