Boxing body at centre of dispute with Olympics offers prize money to beaten Italian fighter

IBA has pledged to award prize money to Italy’s Angela Carini, who abandoned her fight with Algeria’s Imane Khelif.

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THE INTERNATIONAL BOXING Association has said it will award prize money to Italy’s Angela Carini, following her withdrawal from an Olympics bout with an Algerian boxer after 46 seconds.

Carini stopped her fight against Imane Khelif, refused to shake hands with her opponent and then collapsed to the canvas in tears.

Khelif is one of two boxers who were deemed ineligible to compete at last year’s World Boxing Championships who are competing at the Paris Olympic Games.

There is no suggestion that Khelif, who has fought on the women’s circuit for years, including in the Tokyo Olympics, identifies as anything other than a woman.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) cleared her to fight at the Paris Games as they use the gender stated on the passport as their criterion for eligibility.

Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting appear to be caught in the crossfire of a row between the IBA and the IOC, which ejected the boxing body from the Olympic movement after financial and ethical irregularities.

Carini has since apologised for not congratulating her opponent.

“All the controversy made me sad and I’m sorry for my opponent too. It’s nothing to do with her. She was here like me to fight,” she told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I was angry because my Olympics had just gone up in smoke but I’ve nothing against Imane Khelif. On the contrary, if I saw her again, I’d give her a hug,” she added.

IBA will award Angela Carini, who abandoned the fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif at Paris 2024 Games after 46 seconds of the first round, the IBA prize money as if she were an Olympic champion, President Umar Kremlev claimed. https://t.co/4mtBGpZk92
— IBA (@IBA_Boxing) August 2, 2024

Referring to Carini’s reaction at the end of the bout, IBA President Umar Kremlev said: “I couldn’t look at her tears.”

“I am not indifferent to such situations, and I can assure that we will protect each boxer. I do not understand why they kill women’s boxing,” added Kremlev.

“Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety.”

The IBA said it would reward Carini prize money “as if she were an Olympic champion.”

The association said it was awarding all gold medallists $100,000 (€91,570), of which $25,000 (€22,892) will go to the national federation and $25,000 (€22,892) to the coach.

It was not immediately clear how much Carini would be offered and the IBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The IBA has been mired in controversy in recent years and no longer has a role in boxing events at the Olympic Games.

The International Olympic Council (IOC) is therefore running boxing events in the Paris Games, as it did for the Tokyo Games.

Khelif fights later Saturday in the women’s 66kg quarter-final against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori, with victory guaranteeing her medal, as all semi-finalists get at least bronze.