In comments reported by Nice Matin, Imane Khelif's former manager, Nasser Yefsah, stated that she had hung up her gloves, without specifying whether it was for good. The Algerian boxer won gold at the Paris Olympics, at the heart of a controversy over her gender that has never stopped.

Will we see Imane Khelif in the ring again? After leaving the Nice Azur Boxe club to turn professional after her Olympic title in Paris, and announcing her intention to compete in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the Algerian has hung up her gloves since winning her gold medal. "Imane hasn't just left Nice, she's left the world of boxing," her now-former manager, Nasser Yesfah, revealed to Nice Matin.

Last summer, the 26-year-old boxer was singled out for her hyperandrogenism and was the target of a wave of cyberbullying. As a reminder, hyperandrogenism is an excessive presence of androgens (male sex hormones) circulating in a woman's blood. It is characterized in particular by a higher level of testosterone, a hormone that promotes muscle development and therefore gives her an athletic advantage, according to these same critics. Despite the controversy, Imane Khelif won the gold medal in the under 66 kilos category against China's Liu Yang.

Following this victory, she wanted to take her career to another level. To turn professional, leaving the Côte d'Azur was a must. "Nice Azur Boxe couldn't offer Imane a professional contract because they didn't have the means. She had one fight in Singapore, but she was supposed to have five before signing pro, which didn't happen because of the controversies," explains Nasser Yesfah.

"After what happened at the Olympics..."

After this first missed event, the welterweight had planned to make her return at the Box Cup in Eindhoven (June 5-10, 2025). However, the Dutch competition also required gender testing for its participants, according to the new World Boxing regulations. At the end of May, the new International Boxing Federation—recognized by the IOC last February—made gender testing mandatory in order to compete. The Algerian was excluded from the Dutch tournament, without it being known whether she had undergone these tests.

At the same time, the results of a test carried out in India during the 2023 World Championships - from which she had been disqualified before entering the competition without further details - were leaked to the press: she allegedly has male karyotypes, with an "XY" marker. This has reignited the controversy that had never really stopped and which has even taken a legal turn with a complaint from the Algerian for aggravated cyberbullying and from the International Boxing Federation against the IOC.

"Currently, she's stopped everything. She hasn't even started boxing again. She's not even boxing again. After what happened at the Olympics... In any case, she'll be subjected to the same type of test if she turns professional," continues Nasser Yesfah. Now, far from France, she's simply maintaining her physical shape. "She does sessions in Algeria or goes to Qatar, to the national performance center to continue training, but nothing more. And then she travels mainly for sponsorship contracts."