Camille Naredo

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World Boxing

<p>LIVERPOOL -- Boxing chiefs on Friday pledged to redouble efforts to get their message across about newly introduced genetic sex tests after a row overshadowed the start of the world championships.</p><p>Twelve boxers have reportedly been barred from competing in Liverpool, including the five-member women&#x27;s team from France, after they missed the deadline for test results to be submitted.</p><p>French Sports Minister Marie Barsacq described the decision as &quot;inadmissible&quot; and the French federation, FFBoxe, reacted angrily.</p><p>The BBC reported that another seven athletes, from the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Nigeria and the Philippines, were unable to compete.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/9/5/pinay-boxer-pulled-out-from-world-championships-after-delayed-result-of-gender-test-1837">READ: Pinay boxer pulled out from World Championships after delayed result of gender test</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/5/31/world-boxing-introduces-mandatory-sex-tests-for-all-fighters-0913">READ: World Boxing introduces mandatory sex tests for all fighters</a></div><p>Maelys Richol, one of the five French boxers affected, said she felt &quot;frustration, anger and disappointment&quot;.</p><p>World Boxing blamed the national federations, saying they were given ample warning of the new policy, which was announced in May.</p><p>But acting secretary general Mike McAtee, speaking to AFP in Liverpool on Friday, the second day of the championships, struck a more conciliatory tone.</p><p>&quot;Anything medical takes time,&quot; he said. &quot;I&#x27;m old enough to remember when we started doing HIV testing and hepatitis testing. There is a slight learning curve, but now nobody thinks about it twice.&quot;</p><p>The American insisted World Boxing had communicated its new policy to officials at many levels, aware that many federations had staffing challenges.</p><p>World Boxing was only granted provisional recognition as the international federation governing the sport within the Olympic movement in February.</p><p>&quot;We need to see how we can perform better, not only on eligibility, but everything else,&quot; said McAtee.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re an old sport in a very young body.</p><p>&quot;So how do we make ourselves better, and how can we support? We have members like GB Boxing, England, Scotland, Wales, that have funding and are able to do it.</p><p>&quot;And then we have other national federations that just don&#x27;t have the funding. So we need to be able to do better in support of our members.&quot;</p><p>McAtee said that in future World Boxing would consider going straight to athletes over the testing requirements.</p><p>&quot;Maybe we should also start contacting the boxers and say, &#x27;Hey, remind your coaches, your team managers, your administrators&#x27;&quot;.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Genetic test -</strong></div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABgKF5SH2Q4JVV8v"></script><p>Under World Boxing&#x27;s policy, fighters over 18 who want to participate in the women&#x27;s category need to take a one-off PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or medical equivalent genetic test.</p><p>It follows a gender row involving Algeria&#x27;s Imane Khelif and Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting at last year&#x27;s Paris Olympics.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/9/2/gender-row-olympic-boxer-lin-won-t-compete-at-worlds-says-official-1223">READ: Gender-row Olympic boxer Lin won&#x27;t compete at worlds, says official</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/9/2/olympic-champion-boxer-khelif-challenges-gender-test-at-cas-0041">READ: Olympic champion boxer Khelif challenges gender test at CAS</a></div><p>The two athletes had been excluded from the International Boxing Association&#x27;s (IBA&#x27;s) 2023 world championships after that organisation said they had failed eligibility tests.</p><p>However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which stepped in to oversee boxing at the Paris Games, allowed them both to compete, saying they had been victims of &quot;a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA&quot;. Both went on to win gold medals.</p><p>During the Games, both fighters were subjected to attacks on social media, rumours about their biological sex and disinformation.</p><p>The IOC leaped to their defence, saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports attesting to that.</p><p>Neither Khelif nor Lin are boxing in Liverpool, where boxers were reluctant to address the issue.</p><p>Taiwan&#x27;s boxing association said Lin would not be competing despite reportedly submitting her test results.</p><p>Khelif has turned to sport&#x27;s top court, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, to challenge World Boxing&#x27;s gender testing policy.</p><p>It comes against a background of turmoil in amateur boxing in recent years.</p><p>The IOC severed links with the IBA in 2023 over financial, governance and ethical concerns. The IBA is led by the Kremlin-linked Russian Umar Kremlev.</p><p>Boxing was not even on the initial sports programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics but McAtee said the amateur sport was now back on track.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re on path, we&#x27;ve already done site visits, we&#x27;re having monthly meetings, and then we also have the Youth Olympic Games coming up next year in Dakar,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re an international federation, and we&#x27;re going to work every day, rolling up our sleeves and getting it done.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Boxing chiefs on Friday pledged to redouble efforts to get their message across about newly introduced genetic sex tests after a row overshadowed the start of the world championships. </p>

Boxing chiefs on Friday pledged to redouble efforts to get their message across about newly introduced genetic sex tests after a row overshadowed the start of the world championships.

Boxing chiefs vow to learn lessons after world championships sex test row

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Boxing chiefs vow to learn lessons after world championships sex test row

John Weaver,

Agence France-Presse

Published September 06, 2025 04:29 PM PHT

Read More:

abssports

boxing

World Boxing

Maelys Richol

ABAP

Ofelia Magno

Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines

FFBoxe

Mike McAtee

Lin Yu-ting

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