What a mess. The Liverpool World Championships were supposed to show that world boxing could run the sport better than the IBA ever did. Instead, fight week turned into a circus before a punch was even thrown. Olympic champion Imane Khelif is banned. The entire French women’s team is forbidden. And the reason? Gender test chaos, missed deadlines and rules that no one can agree on.
Imane Khelif, 26, has not fought since winning gold in Paris 2024, and China’s Yang Liu beat 5-0 in the Welterweight final. It should have cemented her legacy, but the sound about her suitability never stopped. The IBA banned her in 2023, claiming that she did not fail the sexual arrangement controls. The IOC steps in at the time, mention the decision ‘A sudden and arbitrary decision’And cleaned her to fight in Paris-where she and Taiwan’s Lin Yu ting both walked away with gold. Now World Boxing has swung the other side and has generally claimed compulsory sex tests.
Khelif talk, world box doubles
Khelif’s attitude has not changed. After Paris she said: “I am fully qualified to participate in this competition – I am a woman. I was born a woman, I lived as a woman and I competed as a woman. There is no doubt that there are enemies of success, and it gives me success a special taste because of these attacks. “
But the new line of World Boxing is simple: No Sry -Gent test, no struggle. Her team appealed to the court of arbitration for sports but Sky Sports Confirm nothing has been submitted. Cas also made it clear that these things last weeks, which is why she would never be cleaned for Liverpool.
French team trapped in the trap
If Khelif’s case was not messy enough, the French women’s team is hit by pure bureaucracy. Their federation, FFBOXE, said the group could not even do the tests in France because the law prohibited the kind of genetic screening. So they waited until they ended up in England. Tests were done, but the results did not make the deadline. Five fighters – away.
The federation was alive: “It is with intoxicated and outrage that the French team learned … The French women’s box team would not be able to compete,” They blew and blame the world box’s own accredited laboratory because they did not deliver in time. One of the fighters, Malyn Richol, also did not hide her feelings: “After an entire working year, we do not find ourselves thrown out for sports, but because of disastrous and unfair management.”
The same old politics, different badges
World boxing was supposed to clean up the mess left by IBA. Instead, their first major showpiece looks like Déjà Vu. Athletes do not lose in the ring, but in the administrative office. Fans look at how champions are banned while federations are arguing over deadlines.
Take me: The IOC has already beaten IBA for ‘arbitrary’ ban. Now World Boxing repeats the same mistake – just with another stamp. If it keeps, it doesn’t matter who is in control. Fighters will continue to stitch, supporters will lose confidence, and the credibility of the sport will sink even further.
Last updated on 09/04/2025
