The 77th edition of the SJA British Sports Awards – the longest-established awards of their kind in Britain – will take place on Tuesday, November 11, 2025; for the second consecutive year, the Awards will be announced live on Sky Sports News; SJA members voted to decide the big three prizes on offer; our SJA Academy members made their cases for the awards…
Winning a WBC title is the achievement of a lifetime. Retaining it is greater. Retaining it twice, in two months, is unprecedented.
In 2025, British Olympian Caroline Dubois did exactly that, successfully defending her WBC lightweight world championship title in January and March.
A technical draw with Jessica Camara after a clash of heads, followed by a majority decision win over South Korean Bo Mi Re Shin meant Dubois spent the year as a world title holder.
The fight was called in the third round due to an injury to Camara, and though recorded as a draw, Dubois massively dominated.
Speaking to Sky Sports following the fight, she said: “She didn’t want it. It was getting stopped by the doctor or I was stopping it.”
Eight weeks later, a challenge by Shin allowed Dubois to set herself beyond doubt as a world lightweight champion.
The fight went all 10 rounds with the Team GB athlete largely in control for most of them, though the South Korean did mount a fierce comeback late in the fight.
While one judge was split, the others recognised over the full contest ‘Sweet Caroline’ had been the superior boxer.
Dubois had retained her title, again.
Though her brother Daniel is IBF World Heavyweight Champion, she was not always destined to join him and faced serious adversities on her way to the top.
As a woman in boxing, she received misogynistic resistance from day one, and when she started boxing aged nine, she claims her father was hesitant and did not support women’s boxing.
For six months, she disguised herself as a boy named ‘Colin’ just to train, as there was no designated space for young female boxers.
Alongside this, in 2017, her first trainer Tony Disson was one of the 72 people to die in the Grenfell Tower tragedy,
Disson trained Dubois at the Dale Youth Boxing Club located at the bottom of the tower and always insisted she was destined for the top.
Dubois has faced challenges since the day she put on her gloves, and with the talent she has, her goal of becoming an undisputed world champion is more than achievable.
Her accomplishments this year have put her at the top – the challenge is not to stay there, but to redefine what it means to be the greatest.
Dylan McLaren is a member of the SJA Academy for media professionals starting their careers. Click here to join.