Caroline Dubois ready to fulfil coach’s great expectations

Shane McGuigan has always felt there was something special about Caroline Dubois.

The London lightweight, recently upgraded to WBC champion after long-time target Katie Taylor relinquished the title, has been tipped for big things for years, but McGuigan wants not only world titles for the 23-year-old, but superstardom.

He believes Dubois, sister of IBF heavyweight champion Daniel, can reach stratospheric levels of fame, given her modest disposition, charming smile, quick sense of humor and her ability.

Now 10-0 (5 KOs), Dubois meets Canada’s Jessica Camara on January 11 at Sheffield’s Park Community Arena on a bill promoted by Boxxer.

Dubois has always not only accepted McGuigan’s praise, but embraced it as a challenge. She does not act as though she feels pressure. Instead, she wants to show the world that her coach has been right all along. She thinks she can back up McGuigan’s assertions.

“I believe so, but I can only do what I can do. I can only do so much,” Dubois said.

“It’s for you guys in the crowd and the public to get behind me and support me. And obviously, be inspired by what I do in the ring. So, I can only do what I can do. I believe that I will.”

Dubois seems naturally shy, so is becoming a superstar something that appeals?

“A hundred per cent,” she replies confidently. “I think that appeals to anyone. But like I said, I can only do what I can do. My job is to train hard, fight hard.”

McGuigan believes that Dubois – who fights on Sky Sports – can control the ball that Claressa Shields and Katie Taylor have run with, and take it further still. He thinks she is the next female fighter to crossover in a major way and it’s a mantle and responsibility Dubois feels ready for.

“I feel like everyone who’s become a face [of their sport], even with the boxing world, they have two personalities, two sides to one coin. And that’s me, you know, outside of the ring and with my family, I’m introverted,” she explains. 

“I like shopping; I like doing my hair; I like doing my nails; I like going out and doing things like that. But when it comes to stepping into the ring and fighting, a different side of me comes out, you know. The more aggressive side, the more wanting to dominate, take over, that side comes out.”

Of course, her initial goal is to beat the 14-4 (3 KOs) Camara in front of her.

From a gym that has recently seen Chris Billam-Smith rule as WBO cruiserweight champion, Ellie Scotney earn world honors, the fast rise of Adam Azim, and light heavyweight Craig Richards box on big shows, the positive and confident vibes have only spread since Dubois was awarded her title.

She travelled to Hamburg, where she was presented with the belt at the WBC’s convention last month, and although she did not win the crown in the ring, she has enough respect for her last opponent, Maira Moneo, to class it as a championship fight.

“It feels good. It feels good,” she said, having received the belt.

“It’s weird because when I was going out there [to Hamburg] I wasn’t really feeling it. But then, as soon as I hit there and I’m rubbing shoulders with the likes of Shawn Porter, and I was like, wow. Blown away. I always said that I don’t think I would ever be starstruck with a celebrity or a singer or anything. But I see a fighter that I grew up watching and I respect and I’m freaking out from the other side of the room.”

There were big names aplenty in Hamburg, from Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko to Vinny Paz, Porter, the Fundoras and countless others. 

Dubois did not feel deprived of her big night, by not claiming the title in the ring.

“I feel like for me, because I fought a really good name last time… Obviously, the boxing world and public from England may not know her. And that’s the problem with me, coming through with a lot of the women that I’m going to fight, they’re not going to know unless it’s a huge name like Alycia Baumgardner or Terri Harper or Beatrice Ferreira. They’re just not going to know them. So, they’re not going to get the respect.

But I know them and I know what their record is and I know who they fought and who they’ve beaten and et cetera, et cetera. So, for me, when I step in the ring against who I did last, Maira Moneo, beat her, Magali Rodriguez, Yanina del Carmen Lescano, all these girls, for me, I’ve already cemented it. Unfortunately, now I’m just going to have to go on that road of fighting people and hopefully get the respect.”

Dubois has abandoned any faint hope of fighting Taylor, but does not feel like she’s missed out by following the Irish great, rather than trying to claim the baton from her in the ring.

“Slim to none,” she smiles, asked of the chance of trying to fight Taylor moving forward, before adding: “For me, I genuinely don’t care. My career, luckily, doesn’t need to revolve around Katie. There’s some huge female fighters coming through, Alycia Baumgardner, Terri Harper, Beatrice Ferreira. Moving up in weight, there’s Chantelle Cameron, there’s Sandy Ryan, Mikaela Mayer. Move up in weight a bit more and there’s some more names. So, I don’t really care about whether or not I fight Katie Taylor. She’s been a great champion and I never ever saw myself stepping in the ring with her. So it really is irrelevant to me. For me, I want to create my own legacy fighting great names and beating them.”

That starts in 2025, and it is a year Dubois hopes is filled with quantity, in terms of fights, and quality, in terms of opponents.  

“I would chase both,” she adds. “For me, I’ve had a good few building years.

“Now, I want to unify. I want to become undisputed. I want to be a legacy maker. I want to chase my goals. That’s to be multi-weight world champion, undisputed world champion. For me, this year, it’s going to be all about trying to unify with some really good names. And I’m going to go out there and try and beat them.”