‘A messed-up situation’ – world champion Dubois on family rift

Caroline Dubois, the reigning WBC lightweight champion, has secured 12 professional victories and one draw, with her next bout against Terri Harper, the WBO titleholder, set for Sunday in London. Her journey has always been intertwined with family, but a rift with her father, Stan Dubois (also known as Dave), has reshaped her path. Two years ago, she left the family home she was raised in, marking a turning point in her career and personal life.

The dispute with her father, under whose strict boxing regime both siblings grew up, led to a split. While Caroline continued training with Shane McGuigan, her brother Daniel took a different route. 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, 25, says in a

reflection on the strained relationship

. Speaking to BBC Sport from McGuigan’s Leyton gym, she shared hopes of reconciliation with Daniel, believing time will mend the divide.

Her father, however, remains a distant figure. “When you separate from someone who is overbearing, you lose the chance to express yourself,” she explains in another

blockquote>. “You start to understand what you want to engage with and what you want to avoid.” This emotional shift became vital as she navigated her rise in the sport.

Caroline’s early life was marked by an unusual identity. At nine, she impersonated a boy named Colin, tucking her hair into a headguard to hide her gender. “It was a reflection of the time,” she says, adding that the idea of being mistaken for a male was “devastating.” Yet she embraced the role, likening it to the spirit of Mulan, “enjoying it, I didn’t care.”

That determination paid off. She won Youth Olympic gold, European titles, and qualified for the Olympics at 19, carving a reputation beyond her brother’s shadow. While Daniel’s path to heavyweight glory was celebrated, Caroline’s achievements were marked by a growing distance. By 2024, when she claimed the WBC interim title, Daniel was absent, and she was not at Wembley Stadium for his Joshua fight, nor at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for his loss to Usyk.

For Caroline, the separation has been a necessary shield. “I haven’t watched him fight—live or on TV—since moving out,” she says. “I see him as a sister now, not a friend. It’s hard not to be there for the moments after a match.” BBC Sport has reached out to Daniel Dubois’s representatives, who declined to comment on behalf of Dave Dubois. The former IBF champion once described family ties as “not always going as smoothly as you would like it to.”

McGuigan, who guided Caroline to her first world title, also shares a personal connection. After losing his sister Nika McGuigan to cancer in 2019, he offered more than just coaching during her toughest times. “Boxing saved me in those terrible moments,” he recalls. “My advice to Caroline was to use the sport as a guide—control what you can, show up, and keep going.”