Eddie Hearn has revealed he is open to promoting boxer Imane Khelif, despite the Algerian being at the centre of a gender conflict that has dominated the Paris Olympics.
The biological woman was embroiled in a heated row this summer after she was allowed to compete against women at the Games, despite being banned from last year’s world championships for failing a gender test.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) cleared her to compete in Paris after cutting ties with the International Boxing Association (IBA). The IBA claimed Khelif was a “biological male” and disqualified her from the World Championships.
And the fighter secured gold in spectacular fashion by beating China’s Yang Liu in the women’s 66kg event without losing a single round during the tournament.
Now top promoter Hearn has claimed he is considering offering Khelif a contract to join his Matchroom Boxing roster and become a professional fighter, The Telegraph defeated.
Eddie Hearn has revealed he is open to promoting boxer Imane Khelif’s gender feud (pictured)
The major promoter claimed that he would consider offering Khelif a contract to join his Matchroom Boxing roster
The biological woman became embroiled in a heated dispute this summer after she was allowed to fight against women at the Olympic Games
When asked if he would consider signing the boxer, Hearn told IFL TV: ‘Yes, if the facts were on the table and there was no reason why this person couldn’t compete as a woman.
“Yes, commercially I would. First of all, she’s a talented fighter. Secondly, I think commercially she has two million followers on Instagram, up from 30,000, so the answer is yes.
“But there are probably facts about this situation that we don’t know for sure are true.
‘But if a fighter was considered a woman, with no physical advantages, but we hear again about X/Y chromosomes, and I haven’t seen anything, I’ve only heard someone say, “We did this test.”
‘Are we going to see it? Or are we just going to believe that story? It’s not something I would ever say, “I’m not going to engage in this conversation. It’s a current conversation.”‘
The aftermath of Khelif’s participation in the Olympics, along with that of fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting, led to angry cries from author JK Rowling and Elon Musk on social media. Donald Trump also mocked the Algerian boxer.
Nabil Boudi, Khelif’s Paris-based lawyer, has since revealed that they have filed a lawsuit with French authorities over comments about her gender online. No individuals have been named as defendants in the lawsuit, but a number of well-known celebrities have been named for their social media posts.
The 25-year-old Olympic champion said yesterday that she was “very hurt” by the intense scrutiny of her gender and also doubted the intentions of those who she said harassed her.
“But immediately after that there was a big protest of big politicians all over the world, athletes all over the world and even artists and stars, Elon Musk, Trump… this… that affected me,” she told El Birad.
‘I’m not going to lie to you, it hit me. It hit me really hard, it hurt me really bad. I can’t tell you how much fear I had.
“The scenario was very scary. Thank God, all the people in Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her willpower,” said the Algerian boxer.
The IOC cleared her to compete in Paris after cutting ties with the IBA, which claims Khelif is a “biological male” after she was disqualified from the world championships.
The fighter secured gold in the women’s 66kg event in spectacular fashion, without losing a single round
The 25-year-old defeated Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng (left) to reach the Olympic final
‘Honestly, I don’t want to get into politics in sports, but they got into politics in sports. Sports and politics are two separate things. These politicians who oppress me, they don’t have the right to say I’m transgender.
Khelif, who is not a transgender woman, is said to have male ‘XY chromosomes’. This point was criticised on social media by people who demanded that she be banned from competing at the Olympics.
Khelif’s success in the women’s 66kg class at the Paris Olympics was celebrated exuberantly by Algeria, who were given the honour of carrying her country’s flag at the closing ceremony.