Imane Khelif to box for first time since 2024 Olympics gender row

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Imane Khelif has announced her professional boxing debut as she prepares to fight for the first time since a gender row around her 2024 Olympics campaign.

Khelif, 27, will face Clarida Sarabia in Paris on 15 December, returning to the scene of her Olympic triumph.

The Algerian won welterweight gold at the 2024 Games, but her summer was overshadowed by debates around her participation due to her disqualification from the previous year’s amateur World Championships.

Khelif, who is not transgender, was disqualified from that 2023 tournament for allegedly failing to meet gender eligibility criteria. However, the World Championships’ organiser, the International Boxing Association (IBA), had previously been expelled by the Olympics movement due to concerns over its governance.

Khelif has long insisted she had the right to compete at the Olympics, and on 15 December, she will turn over to the professional ranks.

Khelif, who will face Sarabia at super-welterweight. said at a press conference per Yahoo: “It’s been over two years since I last boxed, and I’ve really missed being in the ring.

“The last couple of years have been quite difficult. The time has come to turn professional, and I’m going to give it my all.”

Although Khelif is beginning her pro career, she said earlier this year that she is not done as an amateur, with an intention to defend her Olympic title at LA 2028.

To do so, she would have to comply with genetic testing rules, which she said she would do. Khelif told CNN in February: “Of course, I would accept doing anything I’m required to do to participate in competitions. They should protect women, but they need to pay attention that while protecting women, they shouldn’t hurt other women. I’m not transgender, I’m a woman. I want to live my life. Please do not exploit me in your political agendas.”

However, one of Khelif’s coaches, Kamel Abdesselam, said: “She has ‌no interest in competing in the ​Games again. She’s already an Olympic champion.”