'Killing women's boxing': IBA's shock cash twist in Imane Khelif eligibility saga

Another twist has emerged in the Imane Khelif eligibility saga with her beaten rival set to be awarded over $75,000 in prizemoney for her knockout.

The Internal Boxing Association (IBA), which was stripped of its international recognition by the IOC in 2023, declared Italy's Angela Carini would receive a hefty payment including an additional $38,000 from her federation in the wake of her round 16 defeat. Carini's coach will also receive a $38,000 bonus.

IBA president Umar Kremlev ignited his attack on the IOC and accused the Olympic governing body of "killing women's boxing."

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"Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety. I could not look at her tears," Kremlev said.

"I am not indifferent to such situations, and I can assure you that we will protect each boxer. Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety."

The bonus funding comes just hours after the Italian fighter who was beaten by women's boxer Khelif apologised to the Algerian athlete for her reaction after the fight, saying she was angry because her "Olympics went up in smoke".

It was a sudden U-turn from Carini, who quit her match-up against Khelif in the women's 66kg category with a flurry of emotion, claiming she had never copped such ferocious damage at the hands of an opponent.

Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei were disqualified from the 2023 world championships after they had already competed. The IBA ruled that Khelif and Lin had failed unspecified gender eligibility tests, but provided no documentation. Both fighters had competed in IBA events for several years.

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Carini's stunning backflip comes as the Hungarian Boxing Association confirmed it was sending letters of protest to both the IOC and Hungary's Olympic committee over Anna Luca Hamori's quarter-final clash with Khelif.

Former opponents of Khelif have also had their say on social media but Carini reversed course on her initial stance following the fight.

"All this controversy makes me sad," she told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."

As for rejecting Khelif's handshake after the bout, the Italian expressed regret.

"It wasn't something I intended to do," she said.

"Actually, I want to apologise to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke."

She said if she encountered Khelif again she would "embrace her".

The IOC took aim at the "misleading" reports about Khelif following Carini's initial reaction, stating she passed all tests to compete during competition and had been competing on the international circuit for many years without incident.

Khelif's next opponent, Hamori still will accept her fight on Saturday against the Algerian, according to MTI, Hungary's state news agency.

MTI was told of the association's plans by Lajos Berkó, a member of the boxing association's executive board. The association also is investigating the possibility of legally challenging Khelif's presence.

"I am very sad that there is a scandal and that we have to talk about a topic that is not compatible with sport," Berkó said. "This is unacceptable and outrageous."

The boxing association plans to "express our indignation and request that the IOC reconsider its decision, which allowed a competitor into the IOC competition system who was previously banned from the (International Boxing Association's) world championships," Berkó said.

Hamori is Hungary's first women's boxer at the Olympics, and she expressed no qualms about fighting Khelif immediately after she earned her quarter-final berth in the 66kg division by trouncing Australia's Marissa Williamson Pohlman.

She had defended Khelif's participation, telling Hungary's state news agency that "if they let her compete here, they must know she's a woman".

"I'm not scared," Hamori said. "I don't care about the press story and social media."

However, in a post on Facebook, she has since said having Khelif at the Olympics is unfair.

"In my humble opinion I don't think it's fair that this contestant can compete in the women's category," the 23-year-old wrote on Facebook.

"But I cannot concern myself with that now, I cannot change it, it's life."

The upcoming fight involving Hungary's first woman boxer at an Olympics has caused outrage in the Central European country.

The Hungarian Olympic Committee said it had reached out to the IOC over Khelif's inclusion, saying it was a "fundamental requirement for equal opportunities for women that only competitors with just female biological characteristics … should be allowed to compete in the women's field".

"If the Olympic rules for participation in boxing do not fully guarantee this, the rules should be reviewed and, if necessary, amended," it said.

The head of the Hungarian Olympic Committee has "initiated immediate consultations" with the IOC's director of sport to "clarify the situation", according to the statement.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the Olympic body's eligibility criteria was based on the gender indicated on the boxers' passports, but acknowledged that it's "not a black and white issue".

Some of Khelif's former opponents have also taken to social media to weigh in on the issue.

Ireland's Amy Broadhurst, one of nine women to beat Khelif in her 41-9 record, defended Khelif on social media, saying women have beaten the Algerian fighter and she "has done nothing to cheat".

"Have had a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally, I don't think she has done anything to 'cheat'," Broadhurst wrote.

"I think it's the way she was born and that's out of her control. The fact that she has been [beaten] by nine females before says it all."

Mexico's Brianda Tamara disagreed with that assertion, posting photos of the beating she copped at the hands of Khelif.

"When I fought with her, I felt very out of my depth; her blows hurt me a lot," Tamara wrote on X after Khelif's disqualification in 2023.

"I don't think I had ever felt like that in my 13 years as a boxer, nor in my sparring with men. Thank God that day I got out of the ring safely, and it's good that they finally realised."

Meantime, Lin Yu-ting won her opening Olympic boxing bout on Friday, beating Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan 5:0 in the women's 57kg division.

Lin is well-known in international competitions for being taller and more slender than most of her fellow competitors at 57kg while using her quickness and superior reach to land significant punches. The two-time Olympian won the final two rounds 5:0 on all five cards against Turdibekova.

Lin bowed to the crowd before leaving the ring. On her walk back to the dressing room, she stopped and waved at her cheering fan section, touching her hand to her heart, and later hugged some of her supporters.

Lin advanced to face Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria in the quarter-finals on Sunday, with the winner clinching her first Olympic medal.

Lin didn't speak to the media after beating Turdibekova. Taiwan coach Tseng Tzu-chiang briefly described the victory, saying Lin overcame nerves caused by pressure in the first round.

"This is how the sport is," Tseng said. "We respect the ruling, and all the rules."

- additional reporting by Alyssa Bone and AP.