Khelif to make professional debut in Paris on December 15, returning to the ring after two years
Olympic champion Imane Khelif has announced she will make her professional boxing debut on December 15 in Paris, facing Clarida Sarabia in the super-welterweight class. It will be the Algerian boxer's first appearance in the ring since winning welterweight gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
The 27-year-old holds a professional licence from France's boxing federation. A return to action planned for April this year had to be postponed after she suffered a training injury.
Flanked by her coach Kamel Abdesselam and promoter Yacin Berrabah at a news conference on Friday, Khelif announced the debut. "It's been over two years since I last boxed, and I've really missed being in the ring," she said.
"The last couple of years have been quite difficult. The time has come to turn professional, and I'm going to give it my all," Khelif added.
Coach Abdesselam is confident Khelif could win a world title within three to five fights, and he compared his fighter with Muhammad Ali. "We want to put Imane on top of the world," Abdesselam said.
Khelif was at the centre of a major gender row at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She was born female but naturally carries the SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome, that indicates masculinity.
In February, she revealed in an interview with French sports daily L'Equipe that she had undergone hormonal treatment to lower her testosterone levels ahead of the Paris Olympics.
