Caroline Dubois pretended to be a boy to box – now she debuts alongside Claressa Shields and plots world domination | Boxing News

Caroline Dubois pretended to be a boy called Colin to enter the boxing gym for the first time as a child but now predicts she will “do what has never been done” in the sport.

The Olympic star will fight for the first time as a professional next Saturday, live on Sky Sports, on the undercard to Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Williams and alongside her inspiration Claressa Shields.

“When I was a little girl of nine-years-old I would get in the ring with boys to spar them,” Dubois, now 21, told Sky Sports.

“I would beat them up, fight them. I didn’t care if they were bigger than me or stronger.”

Dubois followed her older brother Daniel, who is now a feared heavyweight contender, into the gym.

She is right-handed but fights as a southpaw, with her left hand as the most dominant, due to a quirk of her training as a child.

“The coaches told me to get in the ring and get into my stance,” she said. “I got into a southpaw stance. It was natural.

“People don’t expect my lead hand to have all the power. But the back hand is just as deadly.”

Dubois is turning her attention to the pro game after an amateur career littered with championships which culminated at last summer’s Olympics.

“I want to leave a legacy as a great fighter,” she said. “Not a great female fighter. If people only remember me as a good female fighter, then I can’t have been that good.

“I want men, women, young boys and girls to all watch me like they watch ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard or Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

“I will be something that has never been seen before and do what has never been done.”

Dubois has cited Shields, who won her first Olympic gold as a 17-year-old in London then won again four years later, as her idol.

Shields is now a three-weight world champion and two-time undisputed champion who will make her UK debut next Saturday, live on Sky Sports, against Ema Kozin.

“She is an inspiration to me,” Dubois said.

“I remember being at my Olympic qualifiers. I told her that I was nervous, not of losing, but of not being able to perform.

“She said that the work I have put in outside of the ring will pay off.

“It’s cool – not many people can say that they fought on the same bill as someone that they look up to.

“I want to see how she carries herself.

“You can learn so much just by watching somebody.”

Sky Sports Boxing schedule

Sunday January 30 in Tulsa
Robson Conceicao vs Xavier Martinez – WBC super-featherweight title eliminator
Nico Ali Walsh

Saturday February 5 in Cardiff
Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Williams
Claressa Shields vs Ema Kozin – IBF, WBA and WBC middleweight titles

Saturday February 19 in Manchester
Amir Khan vs Kell Brook
Natasha Jonas vs Ewa Piatkowska – WBO super-welterweight title
Frazer Clarke’s pro debut

Saturday February 26 in Glasgow
Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall – undisputed super-lightweight titles
Nick Campbell vs Jay McFarlane – Scottish heavyweight title

Saturday March 5 in Fresno
Jose Ramirez vs Jose Pedraza

Sunday March 20 in New York
Edgar Berlanga vs Steve Rolls
Keyshawn Davis
Xander Zayas