Terri Harper and Caroline Dubois have successfully made weight for their highly anticipated unified lightweight world title fight, but the verbal sparring continued right up to the final moments before Sunday's clash in London.
Both fighters stepped onto the scales one pound under the 9 stone 9 pound limit at London's Olympia venue, looking in peak physical condition. The tension was palpable as they faced off afterward, with Harper delivering a blunt message to her opponent.
"I just told her I'm excited to punch her in the face," Harper declared.
The 29-year-old WBO champion from Doncaster has largely remained quiet during the build-up while WBC titleholder Dubois, 25, has done most of the talking. However, Harper has shown she won't be intimidated, having shoved Dubois earlier in the week and exchanged elbow jostles during Thursday's photo call.
"The game is over. It's all about tomorrow [Sunday]. It's not about the elbows, it's about the fists," Harper stated, signaling her readiness for the main event.
A three-weight champion who has previously held titles at featherweight and light-middleweight, Harper feels most comfortable at lightweight. "I naturally get down to this weight. This morning I woke up on weight, I didn't need to take anything off," she explained.
Harper brings significant experience to the ring with a record of 16 wins, two losses, and two draws that includes bouts against notable opponents like Natasha Jonas, Alycia Baumgardner, Cecilia Brækhus, and Sandy Ryan.
Dubois, with 12 wins and one draw, is yet to face a marquee opponent but sees this fight as her opportunity to break through. "Look at my body and my physique. This year I've grown, I've got bigger, I've got stronger," she said. "A win is the most important, but I believe I win by knockout."
Undercard Highlights
The London show features a stacked undercard with four female world-title fights involving British fighters, all of whom made weight successfully.
Londoner Ellie Scotney, 28, has the chance to become Britain's youngest ever undisputed champion in the four-belt era when she faces Mexico's Mayelli Flores for the undisputed super-bantamweight title. Both fighters came in under the 8 stone 9 pound limit, with Scotney towering over the 4-foot-11 Flores by five inches during their face-off.
Flores vowed to bring "war to the ring," citing Mexican legends Julio Cesar Chavez Sr and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, while Scotney responded confidently: "I'm more than ready. All the belts, all the marbles."