Iman Khalif: “Soon I will enter the world of professional boxing, I have many proposals” – The facts ahead of 2028

In the summer, in Paris, he was at the center of a fierce controversy regarding her gender, after her victory over her Italian Angela Cariniwho left the ring at 46 seconds in tears after being punched hard. After a few days, the Iman Kalif she won the gold medal at the Olympics in front of a crowd that cheered her name through all three rounds of the final. Today, and with the uproar having somewhat subsided, h intersex Algerian boxer stated at a press conference in her hometown that will enter the world of professional boxing and in fact, she already has several proposals in her hands.

She said last Sunday:Soon, I will enter the world of professional boxing, I have many proposals. I haven’t decided where I will enter professional boxingbut very soon I will take this step. We, as Algerians, would like to see our level in the field of professionalism».

As they emphasize Timeshowever, the top promotersFrank Warren and Eddie Hearn, are not among those who have expressed interest in Califf.

Hearn previously stated that would be interested in promoting Kelif “if the facts had been revealed and she was in a position where there was no reason why that person should not be fighting as a woman». However, both the Matchroom Boxing (by Hearn) as well as the Warren’s Queensberry Promotions confirmed that they have not made a proposal to take over organizing matches of the Algerian boxer.

The check on whether the Califbut also the Lin Yu Ting from Taiwan, who also took gold after being disqualified from last year’s World Championships, should have been allowed to compete in Paris, were part of the wider, bitter dispute between the International Boxing Association (IBA) and the IOC.

The IBA (behind which, we remind you, are the Russians), which conducted the gender appropriateness tests and eliminated Kelif and Lynn last yearwas stripped of its right to run Olympic boxing amid concerns about governance, finances and corruption within it. OR Paris Boxing Unit of the IOC oversaw the games this summer and refused to ban boxers from participating, insisting that an athlete’s eligibility is based on gender, which is determined “in his passport” and claiming that the IBA testing process was “so flawed that it is impossible to deal with it».

The stalemate eventually engulfed the sport in Paris, as Italy’s Carini abandoned her race with Calif after just 46 seconds and she claimed she feared for her lifewhile one of Lin’s opponents protested her defeat by making a double X gesture in reference to having female chromosomes. Calif filed a lawsuit in France after the Games over comments made about her gender online.

The IOC has repeatedly stated that it will not organize boxing itself in the absence of a proper federation at the Olympics and the sport is not currently on the schedule for Los Angeles in 2028. OR World Boxinga breakaway federation, hopes to win IOC recognition next year and host the World Championships in Liverpool in September.

Kelif said she still hopes to compete in that event, but whether that will be possible remains unclear. It is understood that the World Boxing medical committee consult experts and hopes to resolve its position on the gender eligibility issue early next year.