Caroline Dubois has split from trainer Shane McGuigan before her WBC and WBO lightweight title defence against Amelia Moore in Birmingham on August 29. The 25-year-old British fighter will relocate to America to work with Manny Robles, the former coach of Andy Ruiz Jr, Oscar Valdez, and Brandon Figueroa.
McGuigan began training Dubois in 2021 and guided her to victories over Maira Moneo, Bo Mi Re Shin, and a unification win against Terri Harper in April. Dubois explained that her decision was driven purely by her ambition to dominate women's boxing rather than any conflict with her former coach.
"Most times fighters leave a coach when they lost, and they want someone to blame or throw under the bus, that's a lame move," Dubois said. She expressed gratitude for McGuigan, adding that she was happy and proud of their journey together after becoming a unified world champion on the biggest stage possible with McGuigan as a massive part of her team.
"I just want to say a massive thank you to Shane McGuigan who was a phenomenal coach and is a phenomenal coach," Dubois said. "I'm honoured, proud and privileged to be part of that."
She emphasized that her foundation under McGuigan remains strong while she pursues further development in the United States. "That work doesn't get forgotten, lost or disappear; it grows and adds to the stable," Dubois said. "I'm on a quest for greatness and will do whatever it takes to get there, and for me, moving to America and trying a different coaching team is a part of that quest. I want to grow and develop and be the best fighter you've ever seen. A fighter should never stop learning or growing or limit themselves."
Birmingham fight card and future targets
Dubois and Moore will meet at 135lbs over 10 two-minute rounds at the bp pulse LIVE Arena. The fight takes place on the MVPW-06 card, live on Sky Sports and available contract-free via NOW, featuring an all-female line-up of UK versus USA bouts headlined by the unified welterweight world championship match between Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron.
Despite preparing for Moore, Dubois admitted feeling frustrated by defending her belts instead of pursuing further unification fights. She sought a fight with WBO champion Elif Nur Turhan, but negotiations collapsed over financial demands.
"From what I hear and from what my promotors and team are telling me, she asked for such an astronomical, ridiculous amount," Dubois said. "It was absurd. It was crazy. The amount she asked for, it wasn't even a laugh out of the room. It was just so ridiculous. If I told you, you would think I'm lying. So she just isn't about it. She's a joker and what you do with jokers, you just leave them alone. That's retirement money. That's never-fight-again type of money."
Title unification ambitions and support
Although the Turhan bout fell through, Dubois believes that fight will eventually happen and is also interested in facing WBA lightweight title holder Stephanie Han. Earlier this year, Dubois called out Alycia Baumgardner, declaring that their highly anticipated showdown has to happen sooner rather than later.
McGuigan previously praised Dubois in 2023, calling her the best lightweight in the world and predicting she would capture all the belts. He noted that she was blitzing everybody in a highly contested division and expected the 25-year-old to become an undisputed champion across lightweight, super-lightweight, and welterweight.
Former undisputed world champion Ellie Scotney backed Dubois' decision to change coaches. "Caroline is a generational talent and I think she's just scratching the surface," Scotney told Sky Sports. "It's one of those where she has to follow if there's something new that she wants to align. Nothing was going wrong for her to make that move. But sometimes you just have to make a change, and I think she's at that place."
