Caroline Dubois is determined to soon make headlines: ‘I want to go into fights that scare me’ | Boxing News

When Caroline Dubois started boxing, she didn’t know where the sport would take her, she just knew it was what she was going to do.

Dubois had his first amateur competition during a club gig in the back room of the Boston Arms pub in north London, the same venue where, a few years earlier, a certain Anthony Joshua had also appeared. his amateur eyes.

A tiny 11-year-old in a huge helmet, she stepped out onto the boxing court like a little Sugar Ray Leonard. “Everybody raved about it. I remember that fight, it was crazy,” Dubois said Sports sky.

“I knew it was a venue where everyone was fighting and it was a sick one because it was my first amateur fight and I remember I wasn’t nervous at all and I remember smiling. , very comfortable when entering the ring, walked out smiling.

“Everybody was blown away by my calmness and ease. I don’t think anyone expected me to perform the way I did. I’ve had people come up to me afterwards and say, ‘Wow. ‘ That’s what really sticks with me and makes me want to keep performing, because people are just fascinated by how good I am.

“I love it.”

At that time, the professional female scene was silent. Female amateur boxing is not very well established in the UK. At one point Caroline had to pretend to be a boy named Colin to get attention as a child.

“The first time I ever had, I hit this kid named Oscar and I made him cry,” she said with a smile.

She explained, “I told my dad I wanted to box and he wasn’t a joker. If you want to box, you have to go the hard way. Repton is a tough boxing club. best in London, especially at the time and they had some tough spears and they weren’t easy there.

“We walked into the gym and it was a men’s only club so we knew what we had to say and I said my name was Colin and they just believed it.

“My dad knew what was going to happen and he wanted to see if I had that disease in me or I was just talking and I was stuck but I didn’t care. I’m a fighter. fight in the heart.

“I knew this was what I wanted to do when I first walked into the boxing gym when I was 9 years old. I remember walking into the gym and thinking wow, how could anyone not want to box. Really. The feel, the atmosphere, the intensity, everything and I just thought to myself, how could anyone not want to do this and I’ve stuck with it ever since.”

The outlook for her future career will soon change. Claressa Shields, Katie Taylor and Nicola Adams star at London 2012, the first Olympic Games to feature women’s boxing. Today’s professional ring is thriving with a major all-women’s professional boxing milestone due to Shields against Savannah Marshall being held on September 10 in London.

“I started at the age of 9 so I was in boxing but without the Olympics, there was nothing for me. So I just thought I would turn pro and hope to do something.” Dubois said.

“Then Claressa Shields came and the 2012 Olympics, Katie Taylor, Nicola Adams and these girls just lit it up. Suddenly there was a path and direction for me and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. while watching the girls.”

Dubois was an outstanding young boxer and became an Olympic athlete at the Tokyo Olympics. She was only short of a medal, narrowly losing in the quarterfinals in Japan. But that bitter experience only spurred her to become a professional.

“It was the most devastating moment of my life. I couldn’t believe it. It was horrible,” she said of Thailand’s loss to Sudaporn Seesondee in Tokyo.

“I’m glad I made it through. I believe each of us has a direction in life. Some people have more ups and downs than others, but there’s a reason for everything. You can didn’t think about it at the time.

“If I were to go out there and hit the box and win the Olympics or whatever, I might have dropped the gas, I wouldn’t have anything to prove. Now I have something to offer. prove it. I have a chip on my shoulder. I just want to go out there and prove it to everyone and just go out there and perform all the time.”

Dubois’ next chance to do so comes with Happy Daudi on July 30 in Bournemouth during Chris Billam-Smith vs Isaac Chamberlain, live. Sports sky.

It will be the third game of her professional career and Dubois wants to advance quickly. Before long, she will resist sterner’s objections.

“I feel like I’m moving at a good pace right now. I feel like I’m making progress every day in the gym and I can’t wait to get into programs like this. I think it will be a matter of time and an opponent’s problem,” she said.

“I want to fight good people because there’s no use [otherwise]. I’d rather stay amateur if I don’t play against good guys. I want to participate in battles that scare me, excite me, so it will be good. “

The biggest match in women’s boxing history – Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall – is live on Sky Sports on Saturday, September 10. Be a part of history and buy tickets to the London match here.