'A messed-up situation' - world champion Dubois on family rift

ByKal Sajad

BBC Sport boxing journalist

Family has always been central to Caroline Dubois' boxing story.

But two years ago, the now WBC lightweight champion - sister to former heavyweight world champion Daniel - left the family home where she was raised.

A row with her father, Stan Dubois (who also goes by the name Dave) under whose strict, high-pressure boxing regime both siblings grew up, was the catalyst.

Caroline walked away but continued training under Shane McGuigan, while Daniel went his own way. Some of her younger siblings went with her, carving out a new family dynamic in the process.

"It's such a messed-up situation. It's just so complex," Caroline, 25, says of the estranged relationship.

Speaking to BBC Sport from the McGuigan gym in Leyton, east London, Caroline - with her younger sister Alicia sitting beside her - says she hopes to reconcile with Daniel and suspects "time" will be the healer.

But it is a different story with her father.

"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 says.

"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."

To understand why Dubois felt she needed to find her voice, you must look at how she started. Long before she was a world champion, she was a nine-year-old girl pretending to be a boy named Colin.

In a world that did not always see a future for female boxers, she tucked her hair into a headguard and lived a lie 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 "Mulan" spirit served her well. She spent years walking into gyms known only as "Daniel's little sister," but soon carved out her own reputation, winning Youth Olympic gold, European gold and qualifying for the Olympics at just 19.

When both siblings were climbing the professional ranks, it was hailed as a family success story. But by the time Caroline beat Maira Moneo in 2024 to become WBC 'interim' champion, the relationship had already soured.

Daniel was not there to see his younger sister's crowning moment. Caroline, meanwhile, was not at Wembley Stadium when Daniel delivered his career-defining knockout of Anthony Joshua, nor was she at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when he lost his belt to Oleksandr Usyk.

For Caroline, the distance has been a necessary means of self-preservation.

"I haven't been able to watch him fight - in person or on TV - since I moved out," she says.

"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."

BBC Sport has contacted representatives of Daniel Dubois, who did not want to speak on behalf of father Dave Dubois. He has previously said family "doesn't always go as smoothly as you would like it to".

After a family split which predominately played out in private, Caroline found sanctuary and emotional support in the McGuigan gym.

McGuigan, who has guided multiple fighters to world titles, offered more than just tactical advice at her most difficult hour.

He offered perspective born of his own grief. In 2019, McGuigan lost his sister, the actress Nika McGuigan, to cancer aged just 33.

"A month later, I had Luke Campbell boxing for a unified world championship against Vasiliy Lomachenko," McGuigan says.

"My experience is that boxing saved me in those terrible times. 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 noticed how his fighter was able to "compartmentalise" her personal issues, but insists the credit lies with her.

"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."

Caroline and Daniel were both mostly home-schooled, but the difference in their personalities is striking.

Daniel can come across as reserved, even awkward, in front of the camera. Caroline, by contrast, has grown into a bold, outspoken presence.

"To be a world champ, you have to be confident," she says. "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 first fight under the Most Valuable Promotions banner in December showcased that confidence in full.

She sparred verbally with the established Alycia Baumgardner and thrived under the glare of the Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua card on Netflix.

Caroline has also taken aim at Doncaster's Terri Harper, calling the three-weight world champion "irrelevant" and predicting what she expects will be an "easy night's work" in their unification bout on Sunday.

McGuigan calls the brashness part of an "alter ego", suggesting Caroline is playing the part, but also sees a deeper link to the independence she has carved out.

"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 says.

At the end of the interview, when asked if she passes any wisdom down, Alicia - a year younger than Caroline - scoffs: "What wisdom?"

After a brief pause and a side-eye, Caroline joins in the laughter - a reminder that, however brash or independent she seems, family still sits at the centre of it all.