‘That’s a guppy’: Baumgardner swats aside Britain’s Dubois as feud escalates

Alycia Baumgardner poses with her junior lightweight championship belts alongside her team after her win over Bo Mi Re Shin. Photograph: Amanda Westcott/Most Valuable Promotions

Dubois escalated the simmering feud on Sky Sports in the run-up to Baumgardner’s fight with Shin, predicting the 31-year-old American would struggle with the durable South Korean and suggesting the bout could expose vulnerabilities she believes are there.

She also questioned Baumgardner’s integrity over positive test for a performance-enhancing drug after a 2023 fight, a ruling later overturned when an lengthy investigation found she didn’t intentionally use banned substances, saying her performances “haven’t looked the same” since.

Baumgardner, however, pointed elsewhere when discussing her next move, calling out Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, two of the sport’s biggest draws. Taylor, 39, has indicated she intends to retire later this year after one final bout in Dublin, with the 80,000-seat Croke Park her preferred stage, though plans are yet to be finalized.

“When we talk about Katie Taylor, we’re talking about someone very skilled,” Baumgardner said. “But when it comes to high-level women’s boxing, she’s the perfect opponent to show that separation.”

If that fight cannot be made, she said Serrano would be a natural alternative, particularly in New York.

“That makes sense, especially here,” Baumgardner said. “We can do it at the Garden. It doesn’t matter who’s tougher. Put me in there and I’ll show you.”

Pressed on a prospective bout with Dubois and why she bristles at the mounting public demand, Baumgardner made it clear she does not view the British southpaw as operating on her level.

“When you talk about my career and where I’m going, it has to align with the biggest fights,” she said. “I’m at that level now. Dubois is a great fighter, but she’s not where I am.

“This is a respect game. You don’t just get a fight by calling someone out. You have to put the work in. I’m a prizefighter, not a charity fighter.”