BOXING IN THE DUBOIS GENES
THEY are considered Britain’s fighting family.
Daniel Dubois is the hottest heavyweight prospect in the nation, sister Caroline is GB Boxing’s best female amateur fighter and brother Prince a schoolboy champion.
Boxing is in their blood and Daniel says they can trace their fighting genes back to an ancestor called Sylvia Dubois.
Sylvia was an African-american who lived in the 1800s and was well known for being handy with her fists.
The siblings’ dad, David, discovered her story when researching the family tree a couple of years ago and Daniel says she must be the source of their talent.
“If you look up Sylvia Dubois, she’s the one we get our boxing ability from,” said Daniel.
“Going way back in the 1800s, in America, she was a pugilist. My dad found out about her and told me. I’ve seen a picture of her as an old lady and I would have liked to have seen her fight.
“Apparently she was something else. I don’t know too much about it but I think it was bare knuckle back then.
“That is where our boxing genes come from and, all these years later, the Dubois family are still fighting.
“We’ve had a big weekend with Caroline in the
Olympic qualifiers and
Prince in the nationals.”
Daniel, 22, has entrusted
Caroline –
■ who is three years younger – to win Olympic gold for the family since he quit the amateurs to pursue his world title dream in 2017. “I have no regrets about turning professional because I know Caroline will take care of that for the family,” he said. Daniel’s trainer and manager, Martin Bowers, added: “Caroline will bring back the gold for the family. Daniel’s mission is to be world champ.”
The London fighter, also known as Dynamite, is making rapid progress towards that goal. He already holds the WBC Silver and WBO International belts after winning his first 14 fights. He is preparing for his next fight against Olympic silver medallist Joe Joyce at The O2 on April 11, subject to the pandemic.
Prince, 15, aims to follow his big brother into the paid ranks of the heavyweights and Daniel thinks they will be London’s answer to the Klitschko brothers.
The older brother says he and Prince dream of emulating the Ukrainian pair by holding all the major titles between them.
“They were both great fighters, who ruled the heavyweight division together,” said Daniel. “That’s our dream.”
Last night sister Caroline’s bid to seal a spot at the Olympics was put on hold after European qualifying was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.