10 February 2020

Caroline Dubois 'over the moon' to be selected for GB Olympic squad and believes Katie Taylor would have been 'beaten a lot more' in current amateur set-up

Teenage prospect Caroline Dubois said she is 'buzzing' to be in the GB boxing squad for the Olympic qualifiers and revealed she already has plans to turn professional.

The 19 year-old has never had a senior amateur bout but made a name for herself at youth level, including winning a gold medal at the Youth Olympics.

Yet despite her inexperience at the top level, Dubois is confident she will not be an unknown quantity for many elite fighters on the circuit.

Speaking to Seconds Out! she said: "I'm over the moon right now. I'm excited, I'm buzzing and I feel like the competition just to get on the team was so much, there were so many high quality girls.

"Even though I haven't had a senior bout, I feel like I'm well known in the amateur game.

"I feel the coaches would have obviously seen me so they'll know who I am, it's just a matter of they'll obviously want to see how I do against girls who are older, have got women power, just more mature I guess."

Dubois is from a boxing family, including her heavyweight brother Daniel who turned professional as a teenager and is now in a huge fight with Joe Joyce on April 11.

And Caroline feels turning over from the amateur game to the pros is not a move as daunting as many may feel.

The youngster cited Olympic gold medallist and undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor as an example of someone who began to struggle in the amateurs before turning to the pro game and having a tremendous amount of success.

"I've been thinking about it. God willing I qualify and god willing I win the Olympic gold medal, I would have achieved everything," she added.

"I would have won the Olympic gold medal twice because of the youth Olympics. I'd have been a world champion, five-time European champion, what else is there for me to achieve? Turn pro.

"The pro game lacks depth, lacks quality. I feel like the amateur side of boxing for females is definitely a million times better.

"Look at Katie Taylor. She didn't even medal at the Olympics in 2016, she got beat in the worlds, if she was an amateur now she would have been beaten a lot more."

The Olympic qualification event gets underway at the Copper Box Arena in London on March 14.

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