It was a punch heard around the world.
On August 1, Italy’s Carini gave up just 46 seconds into her boxing match against Imane Khelif after the transgender female landed a decisive blow to her nose.
Carini stopped fighting after Khelif landed the devastating punch. She turned to her team, breaking down in tears and falling to her knees. Carini, who is 25, told her coach, “It’s not right, it’s not right,” and later told reporters she had never been hit so hard before in her boxing career.
Khelif is set to fight again at the Paris Olympics on Saturday. While Kalif’s next victim is unknown, a victory would ensure the Algerian athlete a bronze medal and a chance to compete for gold.
Last year, Khelif was disqualified from the women’s World Championships in New Delhi because the athlete didn’t pass a gender eligibility test. At the same event, Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan was disqualified for the same reason. The IBA didn’t say why the boxers failed the test, but they did say that neither had a testosterone test. Both Khelif, who is 25, and Lin, who is 28 and a two-time world champion, do not identify as transgender or intersex.
Lin is set to compete at the Olympics on Friday, August 2.
The IBA organized the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) no longer recognizes it. For the upcoming Olympics this summer, boxing is being organized by the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), a special group set up by the IOC.
The IOC said that all athletes competing in the boxing events for the Paris 2024 Olympics meet the rules and medical requirements set by the PBU. The PBU worked hard to ensure changes were kept to a minimum so athletes could prepare without too many disruptions and keep things consistent from one Olympics to the next.
After Carini decided to quit the match, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the IOC for letting Khelif compete. Meloni said the match wasn’t fair because of the decision. She mentioned that she disagreed with the IOC’s choices for years and that Italy had warned about the problems when the IOC changed the rules in 2021.
In a touching show of support, Meloni met Carini in Paris on Thursday, encouraging her to continue boxing. Melani, who was in Paris for the games, also encouraged Carini on an X post, writing, “I know that you won’t give up, Angela, and I know that one day you will get what you deserve through strength and sweat. In a competition that is finally equal.”
Meloni is an outspoken advocate for keeping men out of women’s sports. Speaking about the boxing match, she said that the high levels of testosterone in the Algerian athlete’s blood meant the competition was unfair from the start.
After her fight with Khelif, Carini talked about her experience. She said it wasn’t a defeat because getting into the ring made her a winner. She accepted the outcome and felt she did her job as a fighter. Although she was heartbroken, she walked away with her head held high. Carini explained that knowing when to stop, especially if something feels wrong, shows maturity, not defeat.
After the fight, Khelif expressed regret that Carini had to withdraw. It wasn’t regret over injuring her opponent; it was a disrespectful regret that Carina didn’t hold out longer. Khalif mentioned hoping for a longer and “more competitive” match. After the match, Khalif said, “I’m here for the gold – I fight everybody.” The athlete posted a picture of her win on Instagram but kept the comments closed because of “mean remarks” on her earlier posts.
Carini said she hoped her country and her father would understand her decision. She felt it was important to stop the fight for her safety, even though it “could have been the biggest match” of her career.
Carini stands with her Olympic dreams stripped. She is a bleeding example of the consequences of allowing men to compete in women’s sports.
