Angela Carini, Italian boxer in middle of gender firestorm, offers apology: ‘All this controversy makes me sad’

PARIS — The Italian boxer who after 46 seconds abandoned her bout against Algeria’s Imane Khelif says she wants to apologize for her post-fight behavior.

In a story published Friday, Angela Carini told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport that she regrets not shaking Khelif’s hand Thursday before leaving the ring.

“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini told the Italian publication, per the AP. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”

Carini added that if she and Khelif met again, she would “embrace her.”

Khelif is one of two boxers that the Russia-led International Boxing Association banned from its 2023 world championships after they failed unspecified gender eligibility tests. IBA president Umar Kremlev told the Russian news agency Tass last year that the disqualifications were because “it was proven they have XY chromosomes.”

The International Olympic Committee has allowed both Khelif and Chinese Tapei’s Lin Yu‑ting to compete at the Paris Olympics. Organizers note that both boxers have passports that indicate they are female and have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category without controversy.

The simmering debate over Khelif’s eligibility exploded Thursday when she defeated Carini in such overpowering fashion. Carini tearfully explained afterward that Khelif’s punches were stronger than any she’d ever endured and that one blow to the nose in particular left her in too much pain to continue.

A full explainer can be read here.

In the wake of the match, Khelif and Yu-ting have been the subject of online abuse.

In a post on X, activist Riley Gaines called the bout between Khelif and Carini “glorified male violence against women.” Author JK Rowling shared a picture of Carini in tears and Khelif trying to comfort her. The caption from Rowling read, “The smirk of a male who’s [sic] knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”

Carini told the Italian paper that “all this controversy makes me sad.”

“If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision,” she said.