Caroline Dubois has reached an intriguing phase of her career. It is a phase in which she is a world champion but doesn’t truly feel like one, and in which one of her greatest inspirations has become ‘an opponent’ in her eyes.
Ten months ago, Dubois dropped Magali Rodriguez three times en route to claiming the IBO world title, a belt she is about to defend for the second time while challenging Maria Moneo for the interim WBC strap. Given Dubois’s thoughts on the IBO title, it is safe to assume she will not view this version of the WBC gold as a ‘proper’ world title either. But it can be a marker on her route to Katie Taylor.
“I never saw the IBO as a world title, and my opponent wasn’t a name the British public know and recognise,” Dubois tells The Independent, humbly, over the phone. “So, I just saw it as another fight for me. It’s a nice thing to have under your name – ‘IBO world champion’ – but unfortunately the IBO title isn’t respected as much as, say, the WBA or WBO. So I just tell myself, ‘It’s not about the belts, it’s about who I fight, it’s about the pedigree, and I feel like this time the name is much bigger and the pedigree is much better.”
While the Briton, 23, has compiled a professional record of 9-0 – following an amateur career that took her to an Olympic quarter-final in Tokyo – Moneo is 14-1, with the 31-year-old’s sole pro loss coming via DQ. In that regard, the Uruguayan is Dubois’s toughest opponent to date, and if “Sweet Caroline” can dispossess Moneo of the interim WBC title on 3 August, the Briton will move a step closer to a bout with the official champion: one of her heroes, Taylor.
“[My view of her] has to change,” Dubois explains. “I watched Katie Taylor when I was 11; the only way you can look at somebody at 11 is to idolise them. Seeing her walk out, the crowd went ballistic, and I was like: ‘Woah…’ I respect all she’s done, but now that I’m 23, she’s an opponent for me. I don’t view her the same way, I’m not an 11-year-old idolising her anymore.
“I’ve walked my own journey and done my own things that I’m proud of. I’d love to share the ring with her. Politics can get in the way, but I’m very much in the mindset that anyone in the 135lb division can get it, and she’s still there – so she can definitely get it.”
As much as Dubois radiates confidence, she still sees herself “as a challenger and a prospect”. “Not that I don’t see myself as a champion,” she insists, “but I’m still up and coming, I’m still very inexperienced in the pro ranks. It’s crazy, women’s boxing moves so fast; in nine fights we’re at world level, so whether we like it or not, we have to challenge ourselves in 50-50 fights.
“But I feel like the growth has been good. My experience, belief and IQ have gone up. Hopefully I’ll be 10 times better next year. I’m used to fight weeks and the build-up now. I don’t panic as much, I don’t get overawed by the occasion.”
The last of those attributes should serve Dubois well on 3 August. The former Olympian has fought in arenas like the O2 and Wembley, but her next bout will take place at Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium – on the undercard of Zak Chelli’s title fight with Callum Simpson.
“There’s no substitute for walking out to a full arena or stadium, walking out to people screaming or booing,” she says. “You just have to be active and be in that atmosphere. It’s about embracing that challenge.”
Caroline Dubois faces Maira Moneo for the IBO and WBC Interim World Lightweight Titles, live on Sky Sports on 3 August.
