The International Boxing Association (IBA) said it will award Angela Carini, who abandoned her fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif at the Paris 2024 Games after 46 seconds, $50,000 in prize money “as if she were an Olympic champion.”
In May, the IBA announced that it would award prize money to all champions and medalists of the 2024 Olympics.
Gold medalists are to get $100,000, with $50,000 going to the athlete, $25,000 to their National Federation and $25,000 to their coach.
Then, it’s down to $50,000 to be split between them for silver and $25,000 for bronze.
Athletes who lost in the quarterfinals and finished fifth will each receive $10,000 from the organization.
Angela Carini, the Italian boxer who withdrew from the fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif after 46 seconds, could receive prize money of $50,000 from the banned IBA
Image credits: angela.carini_tiger
Angela lost her match to Imane in the women’s 66 kg division when she withdrew after receiving a punch to the face less than a minute into the first round.
On Thursday (August 1), the Italian boxer reportedly told her coach, “It’s not right, it’s not right,” and said she was unable to continue before collapsing to her knees.
Angela subsequently refused to shake Imane’s hand after the Algerian athlete was announced as the winner.
Following Imane’s victory, the president of the IBA, Umar Kremlev, questioned the 25-year-old’s participation in the Olympics, saying her inclusion was “killing women’s boxing.”
Angela would receive the money “as if she were an Olympic champion,” the International Boxing Association announced
“I couldn’t look at her tears,” President Kremlev said of Angela’s post-match reaction. “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.
“Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety.”
The bout sparked a wave of transphobic comments online, with high-profile figures like writer J.K. Rowling, magnate Elon Musk, and YouTuber Logan Paul opposing Imane’s inclusion in the competition and spreading misinformation on the matter.
Logan has since apologized for calling the fight “the purest form of evil unfolding right before our eyes” and for misgendering the Algerian boxer, who is a cisgender woman.
Imane was disqualified from the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships, organized by the IBA, after allegedly failing gender eligibility tests. However, the IOC has consistently defended her inclusion in the competition
Imane and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting were disqualified from the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships organized by the Russian-led IBA after allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.
However, the IBA has not released the results of the gender test or explained how it arrived at that conclusion.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) revoked the IBA’s Olympic status in 2019 due to concerns about governance, corruption, and financial mismanagement.
An independent investigation, led by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, found that IBA officials manipulated bouts at the Rio Olympics for “money, perceived benefit of AIBA [the IBA’s name prior to 2021], or to thank National Federations and their Olympic committees, and, on occasion, hosts of competitions for their financial support and political backing,” as per Yahoo News.
Angela apologized for not shaking Imane’s hand after her defeat, saying, “If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision”
The IOC, the governing body of Olympic sports, referred to the IBA’s decision to ban Imane and Lin as “sudden and arbitrary” and emphasized that the pair are eligible to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure—especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years,” the IOC stated on Thursday (August 1).
“We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024…The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.
“Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination,” it added.
The Laghouat, Algeria, native was born a biological female and identifies as a woman.
She has always competed as a woman, including at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
After the result of the fight, and Imane being misgendered by online critics around the world, Angela apologized to the boxer and expressed regret for not shaking her hand after her defeat.
“All this controversy makes me sad,” the Naples-born boxer told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday (August 2).
She continued: “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.
“I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
The athlete added that if she met Imane again, she would “embrace her”
The athlete reportedly added that if she met Imane again, she would “embrace her.”
Imane defeated Hungarian boxer Anna Luca Hamori on Saturday (August 3), advancing to the semifinals and securing at least a bronze medal. Now, she is set to face Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng on Tuesday (August 4).
Upon being honored as a UNICEF national ambassador in January 2024, Imane stated: “My dream is to win a gold medal. If I win, mothers and fathers can see how far their children can go.
“I particularly want to inspire girls and children who are disadvantaged in Algeria.”
Most people disagreed with the IBA’s decision to award Angela prize money despite her not having won the competition
