Lightweight Caroline Dubois won her opening bout of the Boxing Road to Tokyo Olympic qualifying event at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday.
The London-born 19-year-old defeated Ala Staradub of Belarus on points and will next face Rio 2016 bronze medallist Mira Potkonen from Finland in the next round.
Dubois, named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2019, was making her senior debut after going unbeaten through her youth career.
📸 A senior debut to remember for Caroline Dubois in the opening bout of the Boxing Road to Tokyo Qualifying event. Here is how the action unfolded 👇#BeInTheirCorner pic.twitter.com/G3jBnZlyR8 — GB Boxing (@gbboxing) March 14, 2020
She said on gbboxing.org.uk: “This is the first fight, which is always the worst one. It was OK, not my best, and, if you ask any of the coaches, they’ll tell you that. I can be much better.”
Dubois, the younger sister of British heavyweight champion Daniel, is looking forward to testing herself against Potkonen.
She said: “To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. She is obviously a top seed but, at the end of the day, she only has two hands, two legs and one brain, and that’s the same as I have.
“I know exactly what to expect and she knows exactly what to expect of me. It’s going to be a good fight for sure. In her mind she will be thinking that she can’t lose to someone my age.”
Later on Saturday, British super-heavyweight Frazer Clarke was handed a walkover after his opponent, Italy’s Clemente Russo, was forced to withdraw due to an abdominal problem.
