Family has always been central to Caroline Dubois' boxing story, but two years ago, the WBC lightweight champion made a difficult decision that reshaped her life.
At 25, Dubois left the family home where she was raised, driven by a rift with her father Stan Dubois (also known as Dave), whose strict, high-pressure boxing regime had guided both her and her brother Daniel, a former heavyweight world champion. The separation led Caroline to train under Shane McGuigan while some of her younger siblings joined her, creating a new family dynamic.
"It's such a messed-up situation. It's just so complex," Caroline says of the estrangement, speaking from the McGuigan gym in Leyton, east London, with her younger sister Alicia by her side.
While she hopes to reconcile with Daniel over time, the relationship with her father remains strained. "When you separate yourself from a person who can be overbearing, where you're not allowed to have an opinion and not allowed to have a voice, and then you have that freedom, you find what you like and what you dislike," she explains. "You find what you want to be around, what type of people you want to be with, and what type of people you don't want to be around."
The Sibling Split: A Painful Distance
Caroline's journey to independence began long before she became a champion. As a nine-year-old girl in a world that often overlooked female boxers, she tucked her hair into a headguard and pretended to be a boy named Colin for months. "I think it was obviously a reflection of the time, but the thing I find most sad is that they actually thought I was a boy. I mean, that's devastating," she quips. "But at the time, I was full Mulan... enjoying it, I didn't care."
That resilience propelled her from being known as "Daniel's little sister" to winning Youth Olympic gold, European gold, and qualifying for the Olympics at 19. Yet, as both siblings rose in the professional ranks, their relationship soured. Daniel was absent when Caroline beat Maira Moneo in 2024 to become WBC 'interim' champion, and Caroline missed his career-defining knockout of Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium and his subsequent loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
For Caroline, the distance has been a necessary form of self-preservation. "I haven't been able to watch him fight - in person or on TV - since I moved out," she admits. "I don't watch him as a friend, I watch him as a sister. It is hard if you're not there to speak to him and check in on him, go up to him afterwards and either console him or give him a slap on the back. It's been very hard."
Sanctuary in the Gym: Finding Support with Shane McGuigan
After the private family split, Caroline found solace and emotional support at the McGuigan gym. Shane McGuigan, who has guided multiple fighters to world titles, offered more than tactical advice—he shared perspective from his own grief after losing his sister, actress Nika McGuigan, to cancer in 2019 at age 33.
"My experience is that boxing saved me in those terrible times," McGuigan says. "My advice to Caroline was to use boxing as guidance. Control what you can, turn up, and keep going. It's about being strong and believing in yourself."
McGuigan notes how Caroline compartmentalized her personal struggles, crediting her resilience. "I'm in the gym with her for two or three hours a day, that's just a fraction of the day," he adds. "The other 21 hours are for thinking and reflecting and it must have been tough. She grew up in a massive family with all her siblings around, and now she has fewer siblings around. It's sad, but she's done a fantastic job adjusting."
'Sweet' Caroline's Alter-Ego: Confidence and Independence
Caroline and Daniel, both mostly home-schooled, display contrasting personalities. While Daniel often appears reserved, Caroline has evolved into a bold, outspoken presence. "To be a world champ, you have to be confident," she asserts. "I'd say I've developed rather than changed in the past couple of years. When I started, I knew my own ability, but I hadn't proven it yet. Now I feel like I'm finally doing that."
Her confidence shone in her first fight under the Most Valuable Promotions banner in December, where she sparred verbally with Alycia Baumgardner and thrived on the high-profile Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua card on Netflix. She has also taken aim at Terri Harper, calling the three-weight world champion "irrelevant" and predicting an "easy night's work" in their upcoming unification bout.
McGuigan attributes this brashness to an "alter ego," suggesting Caroline is playing a role while also linking it to the independence she has forged. "Caroline didn't spend much time in school - only a year - so boxing was her only community. When she moved out, she had to find that community for herself and her siblings," he explains.
At the interview's end, when asked if she passes wisdom down to her sister Alicia, Alicia scoffs, "What wisdom?" After a pause and a side-eye, Caroline joins in the laughter—a reminder that, despite her bold exterior, family remains at the heart of her story.