Claressa Shields backs Caroline Dubois, criticizes Alycia Baumgardner

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LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 05: Caroline Dubois poses for a photo with her belts alongside Claressa Shields, American professional boxer and former professional mixed martial artist, after victory against Terri Harper during the WBC and WBO World Lightweight title fight during the MVPW-01 fight night at Kensington Olympia on April 05, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) | Getty Images While Caroline Dubois has been steadily seeking a fight against Alycia Baumgardner, who has her own plans in the meanwhile, Claressa Shields has come out to publicly endorse Dubois as a talent and call out Baumgardner for ducking the smoke. Shields tells Sky Sports that it’s obvious Baumgardner is avoiding the fight when there’s only a few pounds between them and Baumgardner could easily come up to make the fight happen if she truly believed her own hype and wanted to shut Dubois up. “I think that Baumgardner is 100 percent scared of Caroline, and she doesn’t want to risk her record now that she already has one loss on it. She doesn’t want to risk it. I believe that Caroline will win that fight,” Shields would say. Shields continued on by saying she expects Dubois to be the next to carry the torch of women’s boxing, while also specifically crediting Gabriela Fundora as a force to be reckoned with. Dubois’ style and temperament, however, are much more aligned to her own, so Shields doesn’t even pretend to not have a particular affinity towards Dubois. In that regard, Shields says she’s even willing to help Dubois develop and lend her the ‘GWOAT’ moniker — just so long as she continues playing the part by seeking out the biggest fights and winning.

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Claressa Shields says Alycia Baumgardner is avoiding showdown with Caroline Dubois.