The amateur boxing world has been thrust into controversy once again as several female competitors, including five from France, were barred from participating in this year’s World Boxing Championship in Liverpool after failing to meet the deadline for mandatory gender testing.
The exclusions stem from new regulations implemented by World Boxing in the aftermath of the heated debate surrounding Imane Khelif’s Olympic gold medal victory at the Paris 2024 Games. The organization introduced mandatory sex testing requirements in June, designed to determine chromosomal sex at birth for all competitors.
The French Boxing Federation expressed outrage at the situation, releasing a scathing statement that revealed the depth of their frustration. “It is with stupefaction and indignation that the French team learned on Wednesday evening the French women’s boxing team would not be able to compete in the first World Championships organised by World Boxing,” the federation declared.
The French team’s predicament was particularly complex due to legal restrictions in their home country. Gender testing has been prohibited in France since 1994, preventing French female athletes from completing the required examinations before traveling to England for the competition.
“Despite guarantees given to us by World Boxing, the laboratory which they recommended to us was not up to the task of delivering the results on time,” the French federation continued. “As a result our athletes as well as those from other countries have been caught in this trap and excluded.”
The personal toll on the affected athletes was evident in their responses. Maelys Richol, one of the barred competitors, voiced her devastation: “After an entire year of work we find ourselves thrown out not for sporting reasons but because of disastrous and unfair management. It is extremely tough to absorb.”
World Boxing, however, firmly placed responsibility with the national federations themselves. The organization emphasized that testing obligations had been clearly communicated well in advance.
“Since World Boxing first announced its plan to introduce mandatory sex testing to determine the chromosomal sex of a male or female at birth, the organisation has made it clear that testing will be the responsibility of the national federations,” World Boxing stated. They argued that national federations were “best placed to manage the testing process” given their direct relationships with athletes and oversight of entry procedures.
A World Boxing official acknowledged the disappointment while maintaining their position: “We are sorry some boxers did not meet the deadline for results of testing but the rules and deadlines were published.”
The testing requirements emerged directly from the contentious Khelif situation at the Paris Olympics. The Algerian boxer, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, had been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the previous governing body, the International Boxing Association, over alleged gender test failures. However, both were permitted to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee, which had stripped the IBA of its governing status over corruption concerns.
The IOC’s approach was notably different, allowing competitors in the women’s division based simply on their passport designation as female. Both Khelif and Lin went on to claim gold medals, intensifying the debate over gender verification in women’s sports.
Khelif has not accepted the new restrictions quietly. She has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking to overturn World Boxing’s decision and compete without undergoing genetic testing. Her legal challenge specifically targets the ruling that banned her from participating “in any World Boxing event until she had undergone genetic sex testing.”
Earlier this week, CAS dismissed her request for an interim suspension of World Boxing’s decision, meaning the ban remains in effect while the case proceeds. The parties are currently exchanging written submissions, with a formal hearing yet to be scheduled.
The Championship proceeded as planned in Liverpool on Thursday, but the absence of several competitors has cast a shadow over the event.
