Caroline Dubois in Tough, Attempts To Secure Spot in Olympics

Caroline Dubois has been handed a tough draw in her attempt to book a place at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The 19-year-old younger sister of British heavyweight champion Daniel, will be the very first bout in the ring at the European Olympic Qualifying tournament at the Copper Box, East London, which begins on Saturday, when she takes on Ana Staradub, of Belarus at lightweight.

With six qualifying spots up for grabs in the lightweight division, it is the first of three bouts she will have to win to book her spot to Tokyo.

If Dubois gets past Staradub, she will face the No 1 seed Mira Potkonen, of Finland, who at 39, is more than twice her age. Potkonen won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016, beating Katie Taylor, the reigning gold medallist, on the way to the semi-finals. She has since twice won gold at the European Championships.

Despite a dazzling unbeaten junior career, which saw her win gold at European, world and Youth Olympics, she has yet to box as a senior, hence she has not been seeded in London.

Competition was tough for the lightweight slots in the Great Britain squad and Dubois was given the call for the Olympic qualifier after impressing during a training camp to Colorado in January.

“My coaches have belief that I can qualify for the Olympics and that gives me confidence that I can do it,” said Dubois, who expects big brother Daniel to break into his training camp for his fight with Joe Joyce to be at the Copper Box.

“He is not very far away so I expect him to be there,” she said.

At least Dubois initially avoided the two real wildcards in the lightweight draw.

Firstly there is Delfine Persoon, of Belgium, who lost her WBC title to Taylor last year, a title she held for five years. It was a fight many believed Persoon won. But she has taken advantage of the change in rules that allows professional boxers to qualify for the Olympics by trying to earn a spot in Tokyo.

Persoon, 35, is in the same half of the draw as Dubois, but they would meet in the semi-finals, after both would have qualified.

Another professional in the women’s lightweight division is Maiva Hamadouche, from France, who has held the IBF super-featherweight title since 2016.

Persoon will be in the ring after Dubois on Saturday, facing Nikoleta Pita, of Greece. Hamadouche is in the other side of a draw and received a bye in the first round, but will box Marija Malencia in her first bout on Tuesday.

The first day also sees the first action for the super-heavyweight, with Frazer Clarke, the British entry, taking on Clemente Russo, who won an Olympic silver medals at heavyweight in 2008 and 2012. In 2012, he lost the final to Oleksandr Usyk, The man that Russo beat in the 2008 semi-final? Deontay Wilder.

All bouts will be screened live on olympicchannel.com, with sessions starting at noon and 6pm (GMT). The tournament is due to run until March 24.