Imane Khelif of Algeria won her opening Olympic boxing bout when opponent Angela Carini of Italy quit after taking two powerful punches after just 46 seconds of action.
Controversy erupted after it was incorrectly reported online that Imane might be transgender — after she was disqualified from the women’s World Championships in New Delhi for failing a gender eligibility test.
At the same tournament, Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting was also disqualified for failing to meet the gender eligibility criteria as well.
Despite the controversy, Imane will move on to face her next opponent.
Unlike Angela Carini, Anna Luca Hamori does not seem afraid to fight Khelif following the Algerian’s controversial opener.
Hamori, Hungary’s first Olympic boxer, has now given her thoughts on her upcoming quarterfinal opponent.
The 23-year-old has stressed that she is solely focused on her own performance and refuses to be distracted by the major backlash coming to Imane Khelif over her gender.
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She told reporters: “I’m not scared. I don’t care about the press story and social media.
“If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win.”
Hamori added: “I’m trying to not use my phone before the fight.
“I don’t want to care about the comments or the story or the news. I just want to stay focused on myself.
“I did it before my last two fights, so I think this is the key, and we will see.”
Hamori made it cleear that she is jumping in the ring to fight and has zero plans to stop it early.
“It was her [Carini’s] choice,” Hamori said. “I don’t understand, because I thought every boxer’s mind is the same like mine, to never give up.
“But it was her choice. We don’t know what was the reason. It’s her life, but I know I want to do this in my own life.”
Former IBF Champion Boxer Ebanie Bridges Would Boycott Olympics If She Had To Fight Imane Khelif
Italy’s Angela Carini called off her fight against Imane Khelif after just 46 seconds on Thursday, having taken a heavy punch to the face.
It led to her crying in the ring and major backlash online over Khelif being labeled as transgender.
Former IBF bantamweight champion Ebanie Bridges made it clear to talkSPORT that if she were in the same position, she would boycott the Olympics.
“I just think it’s wrong. I wouldn’t do it… I wouldn’t risk it.
“And I’m tough, I’m a hard a***. You know what I mean, but I wouldn’t do it and I wouldn’t want to give them that to share the ring with me, because it’s unfair.
“You know you’ve got more testosterone, you know you’ve got XY chromosomes. That’s like knowing you’ve got a biological advantage.”
