Caroline Dubois has always forged her own path.
As a youngster, she posed as a boy in a bid to keep boxing at a good level because girls weren’t allowed. Her resilience was rewarded with a glittering amateur career, winning gold at the 2018 Youth Olympics before representing Great Britain at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, as well as a host of domestic titles.
She quickly stamped her mark as a professional, winning the WBC lightweight title in 2024 just two years into her career. Last year, tired of waiting for opportunities to come to her, Dubois signed with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and within 10 days fought on the Paul vs. Anthony Joshua undercard in Miami.
The week leading up to the fight saw her take on a verbal back-and-forth with Alycia Baumgardner; a battle few saw coming but at times stole the show.
As the 25-year-old enters the next phase of her career, fighting rival Terri Harper with the unified lightweight titles on the line on Sunday [Sky Sports in U.K., ESPN in U.S.], Dubois (12-0-1, 5 KOs) is eager have an impact outside the ropes.
Growing up, Dubois says there weren’t many female boxers that she could relate to. Instead, UFC star Ronda Rousey and tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams inspired her to chase her dreams, showing that women could blaze a trail in sports.
Now she wants to do the same.
“I think that she [Rousey] was the first woman that I ever really took note of,” Dubois told ESPN.
“Even through boxing, there wasn’t anyone … And then Ronda came on the scene and she changed the game … Not just for UFC, but for combat sports as a whole. I see her as [what] everyone should try and aim for.”
The female boxers did come, and Dubois acknowledges the impact they had. Natasha Jonas, Nicola Adams, Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields, as well as those who came before Dubois’ time, such as Leyla Ali, laid the foundation.
Dubois is eyeing a legacy of her own and wants to shape the sport of women’s boxing.
“We’ve seen Ronda do it with the UFC. We’ve seen Venus and Serena do it with tennis. I think you’re going to see it again through me with women’s boxing. My intention is to push the sport,” Dubois said at the launch news conference for Sunday’s fight.
“I love boxing but more importantly, I believe I’m an entertainer.”
MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian insists Dubois has what it takes to make the goal of transforming women’s boxing a reality.
“She is an incredible young woman in terms of the confidence she possesses, the passion that she has, not just for the sport, but for people,” Bidarian told ESPN.
“I believe Caroline, at her age, she has the opportunity to become the Ronda Rousey of women’s boxing. It’s going to take 3-4 years … It’s going to require some fantastic finishes, but she has all the right ingredients.”
And while the Brit wants to change the game in her own way, she knows it can’t be forced. It has to be authentic.
“You should set out to be the best you, to be the best athlete,” Dubois says. “And through that, through your actions, people are going to see something that’s worth being admired for. And people are going to be inspired by that. And that’s all I’ve tried to do.”
Trainer Shane McGuigan says her rise is even more remarkable given her somewhat unconventional upbringing.
“Caroline didn’t go to school … She went to school for a year,” McGuigan tells ESPN.
“You do a lot of development just as a human being going through school.”
Dubois’ boxing gym became her community. As with her brother, former heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois, Caroline was guided closely by their father. Caroline has since distanced herself from her dad and McGuigan has been impressed by how much she has grown in the last few years.
“Unfortunately [Dubois has] fallen out with her brother and her dad, and she’s having to find her feet so much at this stage,” McGuigan continues.
“But sometimes people … They grow in those situations. That’s where that resilience and strength and growth really comes from.”
Dubois would be the first to tell you there is more growth as a person and as a boxer coming down the line.
But having been so strong in making her own way so far, being the next Ronda or Serena doesn’t seem out of the question.
