Caroline Dubois is confident she is a fight away from an undisputed showdown with her American rival Alycia Baumgardner.
Baumgardner, once the undisputed super-featherweight champion, moved up to lightweight to dominate Elif Nur Turhan and win the IBF world featherweight title.
In El Paso on February 20, go live Sky Sports, Dubois fights Stephanie Hanlooking to add the WBA championship to the WBO and WBC lightweight titles she already holds.
She was in Texas on Sunday to confront Han and call Baumgardner.
As much as there is animosity between Dubois and Baumgardner, who have now had a number of tough confrontations, the Londoner was pleased to see her rival move up to the 135lb division.
“Of course, I knew it was going to happen. I said it. I said there was nothing left for him at 130,” Dubois said. Sky Sports. “It has been a position now where it has no opponents.
“You have to challenge yourself, you have to test yourself and that test, the biggest test of her career is going to be against me. I knew she was going to have to step up.”
To stay on track, Dubois must defeat Han in February. Han is undefeated as a professional and has two high profile wins on her book over Holly Holm as well. But Dubois is determined to overcome it in her hometown and move on.
She insists she won’t back down from Baumgardner. She doesn’t want the American to suspect either.
“What’s the point of gaining weight and having a belt? There’s no point in going halfway, you go all the way. When you’re on a quest for greatness, you go all the way,” Dubois said.
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Highlights of the lightweight bout between Dubois and Amelia Moore
“I know for myself, I want to be undisputed. I’m going to be very frustrated if I wrestle and join as much as I can and there’s only one belt and she’s terrified of me getting in the ring and it prevents me from going undisputed. I think that would be a bad move and I’d be very disappointed.”
But Dubois added: “If she’s as great as she says she is, then hopefully that’s the character she’ll have and would relish the opportunity.
“It’s something that we both have to work on, to make sure that when the fight happens, it’s on the biggest platform, on the biggest stage, and we’re given the respect we deserve to put ourselves on the line.”
Watch Dubois vs. Han live on February 20th Sky Sports.