Eddie Hearn offers to promote Imane Khelif after Olympic boxing gender row
Eddie Hearn has offered to promote Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif at Matchroom after the gender row which erupted at Paris 2024.
Khelif clinched a gold medal for Algeria in the women’s event, despite reportedly failing the International Boxing Association’s gender eligibility rules in 2023.
The Algerian was born a biological female and a ‘cyber harassment’ lawsuit is underway after Khelif suffered online abuse both during and after the Olympics.
Khelif is now mulling over the possibility of turning professional – and Hearn would love to add the fighter to his Matchroom stable – but there’s one condition.
Quizzed if he would like to bring in Khelif, the Matchroom Boxing chief told iFL TV: ‘Yes, if the facts were laid out.
‘If it was in a position where there is no reason why this individual shouldn’t compete as a female. One, she is a talented fighter.
‘Two, commercially I think she has up to two Instagram million followers so the answer is yes. There are probably facts that we don’t know around the situation and if they are true.