PARIS, FR. (THECOUNT) — Controversial Olympic boxer Imane Khelif secured a win on Thursday after opponent Angela Carini abandoned their match just 46 seconds in.
Khelif, hailing from Algeria, qualified for the Paris Olympic Games after being disqualified from the 2023 International Boxing Association (IBA) finals for not meeting eligibility requirements. IBA president Umar Kremlev told a Russian news agency that Khelif has “XY chromosomes,” as reported by Reuters.
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Video footage of the bout shows Khelif landing several punches on Italy’s Carini, causing her headgear to come loose. Following the incident, Carini retreated to her corner, where her coach signaled the end of the match.
A tearful Carini later explained her decision to reporters, citing an instinctive reaction to severe pain.
“I ended the match because, after the second blow, I felt a strong pain in my nose,” Carini said, according to Reuters. “You all saw my nose start bleeding. I didn’t lose tonight; I just surrendered with maturity. The ring is my life.”
Carini emphasized her decision was based on experience and self-preservation. “I’ve always been very instinctive, but when I feel something is not going well, it’s not a surrender but having the maturity to stop,” she added.
The fight has sparked significant outrage online. Women’s sports activist Riley Gaines and X owner Elon Musk both voiced their support for Carini, with Gaines tweeting, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini,” and Musk replying, “Absolutely.”
Brianda Tamara, a female boxer who faced Khelif in Mexico in 2022, shared her own harrowing experience on social media. “When I fought with her, I felt very out of my reach; her blows hurt me a lot. I don’t think I had ever felt like that in my 13 years as a boxer, nor in my sparring with men,” she wrote. “Thank God that day I got out of the ring safely, and it’s good that they finally realized.”
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