It turns out Thursday wasn’t the first time that a female boxer feared for her own safety in a match against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.
On Thursday, Italian opponent Angela Carini retired in her match with Khelif after just 46 seconds when she was hit in the nose and broke down into tears, saying she had never been hit so hard before.
In Dec. 2022, Khelif beat Brianda Tamara so severely that she couldn’t believe that she escaped without a major injury — months before Khelif was disqualified ahead of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship Finals due to high levels of testosterone in her system. .
“When I fought with her, I felt very out of my depth; her blows hurt me a lot,” Tamara wrote on X after Khelif’s disqualification in March 2023. “I don’t think I had ever felt like that in my 13 years as a boxer, nor in my sparring with men. Thank God that day I got out of the ring safely, and it’s good that they finally realized.”
Tamara also posted images of her bruised face on social media after the brutal beatdown she suffered in the match located in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The controversy surrounding Khelif’s Olympic win over Carini prompted Tamara to re-post the photos this week.
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Boxing world champion and MMA fighter Claressa Shields weighed in on X on Thursday, commenting on the IOC’s decision to allow Khelif to fight.
“I’m taking a stand! Women should fight against women, men fight against men, and transgenders fight against transgenders!,” she wrote. “This is ridiculous and I’m heartbroken for the women boxers at the Olympics!”
Brianda Tamara has since re-posted her injuries on social media.@briandatamara/Instagram
Khelif’s next opponent, Hungarian Olympic boxer Anna Luca Hamori has told reporters that she is not afraid and will not be intimidated by Khelif.
The bout is set for Saturday, Aug. 3 and is certain to get plenty of attention.
