Imane Khelif (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
The vice president of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) has pushed back on claims that Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was born a woman amid Olympic controversy.

Istvan Kovacs, a former Hungarian boxer and former secretary general of the International Boxing Association (IBA), recently told Hungarian reporters that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was warned about males competing in women’s boxing two years ago but did nothing about it.

Kovacs made a statement to Magyar Nemzet on Friday confirming speculation over Khelif’s gender, claiming the Algerian was known to be male as far back as 2022.

“The problem was not with the level of Khelif’s testosterone, because that can be adjusted nowadays, but with the result of the gender test, which clearly revealed that the Algerian boxer is biologically male,” he said.

He also noted that five boxers, including Khelif, were examined, and they “were indeed men.”

Kovac disclosed having personally reported the results to the IOC, “but as unbelievable as it is, they have not responded to this to this day.” 

IBO Vice President Tried Talking Anna Luca Hamor Out Of Fighting Imane Khelif

The former boxer says he tried discouraging compatriot Anna Luca Hamori from fighting Khelif in Saturday’s match. While he does not think Khelif is a good boxer, he was worried because Hamori hadn’t trained to fight a male opponent.

“The biggest problem is that Hámori can only realize her big dream of winning a medal at the summer games at the first Olympics of her life if she beats a man. She was simply not trained for this,” he added.

Hamori went ahead with the fight and even taunted the Algerian with an AI-generated photo of a female boxer fighting a large male devil with horns.

Imane Khelif has since advanced to the semis with a win over Hamori and is now guaranteed a medal, Algeria’s first since 2000.