Eddie Hearn offers to promote Imane Khelif after gender row in Olympic boxing

Eddie Hearn has offered to promote Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif at Matchroom after the gender row which erupted at Paris 2024.

Khelif clinched a gold medal for Algeria in the women’s event, despite reportedly failing the International Boxing Association’s gender eligibility rules in 2023.

The Algerian was born a biological female and a ‘cyber harassment’ lawsuit is underway after Khelif suffered online abuse both during and after the Olympics.

Khelif is now mulling over the possibility of turning professional – and Hearn would love to add the fighter to his Matchroom stable – but there’s one condition.

Quizzed if he would like to bring in Khelif, the Matchroom Boxing chief told iFL TV: ‘Yes, if the facts were laid out.

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‘If it was in a position where there is no reason why this individual shouldn’t compete as a female. One, she is a talented fighter.

‘Two, commercially I think she has up to two Instagram million followers so the answer is yes. There are probably facts that we don’t know around the situation and if they are true.

‘If a fighter was deemed female with no physical advantages – again I haven’t seen anything, I have only seen people say ‘they have done this test’.

‘Do we get to see it? Are we just going to believe that narrative? It’s not ever one that I’d go I’m not getting involved in this conversation.’

Speaking more generally about the Olympic boxing gender row, Hearn added: ‘If there is an unfair physical advantage that the individual has, that is what has to be looked at.

‘But not by a rival organisation, or someone with an agenda. But if you are born a female and lived your whole life as a female it’s different.

‘I’m not going to say what is right or wrong, but the facts that I have seen lean me towards you have the right to compete as a female.

‘So I don’t know. But also I will say this individual has competed on the circuit for years. It’s not like she’s dominated the scene, she’s lost many times.

‘Other fighters came out and said, ‘I’ve sparred her or beat her.’ I feel like the Italian was a put-up job.

‘Because it wasn’t even really a huge shot, and this person has sparred her before. But we need more information about it and a conversation about it.’

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