PuraVida Sports

Lausanne, Switzerland:

International Boxing Association (IBA) is happy that Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is considering legal steps against the organization, arguing that a court would force our organization to reveal two gender tests based on which the boxer was banned from participating in any IBA women’s events.

“We received great news that the IOC will face the consequences of their decisions, as Imane Khelif is going to proceed with legal actions against the IBA,” IBA President Umar Kremlev said in a statement.

“We are really glad, as we will be able to prove in court that Khelif, based on eligibility criteria, was not allowed to compete in female boxing events in order to guarantee safety and fair chance to women competitors. 

“We will insist on the forensic medical examination, which will prove our position, and we will communicate the outcome accordingly. Thomas Bach will be personally accountable to the law for what he did.”

IBA said it is committed to protecting the boxer’s safety and fairness of competitions.

Khelif, a cisgender woman (someone whose internal sense of gender is specifically opposite the sex the person was identified as having at birth), won gold in the women’s 66-kilogrammes boxing competition and was the subject of global attention during the Olympics after defeating Italian boxer Angela Carini in just 46 seconds in a preliminary match. 

The fight triggered an onslaught of online abuse, with transphobic commentators incorrectly calling Khelif “a man.”

Meanwhile, the IBA has welcomed the Dutch Boxing Federation as a provisional member of the organization. The permanent membership will be voted on by the delegates at the next IBA Congress.

It signals the return of Dutch boxers to IBA events, who are eligible to compete if associated with the new member in the Netherlands.

IBA Secretary General and CEO Chris Roberts claimed that the newly established National Federation will be able to take part in the upcoming IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Niš, Serbia, which will take place on March 8-16.

“We welcome a new National Federation from the Netherlands to the IBA Family, as we are looking forward to working together in order to give a new revamp into Dutch boxing. 

“We will assist the organization with smooth onboarding and hope to see their athletes participating in the upcoming IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships,” Roberts said.

Dutch Boxing Federation Secretary General, Jan Deijkers, said: “We started to think about the new federation after the Olympic Games in Paris, basically trying to look at what’s the best approach to give a good program for the top athletes. IBA is the biggest boxing international federation, but it’s also the organization providing the best events.

“The programme of the IBA is, if you look at their championships, the best option for the top boxers to basically get everything out of their careers. 

“We want to give athletes the opportunity to switch, and since we are formally approved, we are establishing a programme we can offer to athletes. 

“Our first goal is to get top boxers in the Netherlands joining us and once we have top athletes participating in the IBA events, we can use that as our marketing,” Deijkers concluded. (IBA/ CNN)