Caroline Dubois pretended to be a boy to start boxing – now she’s on the verge of becoming a unified world champion

When Caroline Dubois started boxing at nine-years old, the sport was very different to how it is today.

On Sunday night, the fast-rising British star will headline the Kensington Olympia in a much-anticipated WBC and WBO lightweight unification clash with bitter rival Terri Harper.

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The show is being promoted by Jake Paul‘s Most Valuable Promotions and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

16 years ago, when Dubois first donned a pair of boxing gloves, an opportunity like this would have been unheard of.

Women’s boxing had not yet been added to the Olympics, and many clubs didn’t take on female boxers.

After months of begging her father to join the famed Repton amateur boxing club alongside her brother, Daniel, he eventually caved.

But in order to get through the door, she had to pretend to be a boy named Colin.

“I started boxing when women’s boxing wasn’t really accepted,” she told talkSPORT.com.

“The Olympics weren’t about. Claressa Shields and Katie Taylor are older than me, so they would have been boxing.

“But there were no Olympics for women, there were no big tournaments, there was nothing.

“A lot of the boxing clubs didn’t have females in the gym, and some didn’t allow it.

“One of the clubs that I went to, Repton amateur boxing club, was one of the clubs that didn’t allow females.

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“They were fixed on that. So to join that club, I had to pretend to be a boy, and I said my name was Collin.

“I was there for a good few months, and they ended up getting me a fight.

“And when you get a fight, you have to get a medical, and you have to have a doctor come over and check you to see if everything is right.

“That would have been a little bit of an issue, so we had to get out of there as quickly as possible.”

Dubois eventually moved to the Dale Youth Boxing Academy in Grenfell, where, after much deliberation, they took her on as a female boxer.

As an amateur, she won gold medals at the Youth Olympics and the World Youth Championships, as well as four European Youth titles.

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She also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals.

‘Sweet Caroline’s’ Olympic heartbreak prompted her to turn over as a professional, where she has enjoyed similar successes.

Dubois (12-0-1) picked up the WBC lightweight title at the back end of 2024 and has successfully defended the green and gold strap three times.

Now, she is hoping to add Harper’s WBO belt to her glittering collection in a good old-fashioned domestic grudge match.

“There is a needle there, and it has come from our competitiveness,” Dubois, 25, added of her upcoming clash.

“It has come from us thinking we are better than each other. I know I am better than her.

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“She thinks she deserves respect, but I believe respect is earned, not given, and she hasn’t earned my respect.

“Her attitude, her energy, seems off; it is a little weak, to be honest.

“That is definitely not something I respect. She thinks I should be bowing down to her, but she won’t be getting that.

“I can talk all I like, but at the end of the day, I get to step into the ring on April 5 and prove that I am better.”

Boxing schedule

For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s  boxing schedule.