Paris (France) (AFP) – She has not fought since her gold medal at Paris-2024: Algerian boxer Imane Khelif will make her return to the ring on December 15 in Paris for her first fight among professionals, with the world belt in her sights.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 12:56

A recurring target of attacks on her gender, the 27-year-old Olympic champion had to postpone her first professional fight last April after an injury in training.

Holder of a professional women's license from the French Boxing Federation, Imane Khelif will fight on December 15 at the Maison de la Mutualité, the boxer, her trainer Kamel Abdesselam and the organizer of the event Yacin Berrabah announced on Friday during a press point in Paris.

In this room which notably saw the legend Marcel Cerdan fight, she will face in six rounds of two minutes (compared to three rounds of three minutes on the amateur side), Clarida Sarabia, licensed in the Netherlands.

“It's been two years and something since I last boxed, and I really missed the ring. I live for it, I can't wait to get back to it, for myself and for my audience. The last few years (after Paris-2024) have been quite complicated during this break. The time had come to turn professional, I'm going to give everything,” declared Imane Khelif.

While she obtained her Olympic medal in the -66 kg category, she will fight next month in the super-welterweight category (-69.8 kg).

Clarida Sarabia, 22nd in the world, is an "undefeated high-level opponent with four victories and four knockouts so it's a real risk, but we have confidence in Imane", highlights her trainer Kamel Abdesselam.

More amateur interest

He judges that the Algerian boxer can “very quickly” win a world belt, “potentially it’s between three and five fights, she has the potential”.

“We want to put Imane on the roof of the world, we can compare her to Mohamed Ali,” says Yacin Berrabah.

Imane Khelif said she wanted her first pro fight to be organized in Paris, where she was crowned Olympic champion, “a memory that marked me for all my life”.

She did not wish to return to “the global controversy” which followed concerning her gender, but indicated that she then needed to “rest (her) head a little”.

She has not fought since her gold medal at Paris-2024 and was notably unable to participate in the Eindhoven tournament in June 2025 due to the introduction, a week earlier, of a compulsory chromosomal test by the international World Boxing federation.

Regularly accused of being a transgender athlete, the boxer was born a girl but is a natural carrier of the SRY gene, considered an indicator of masculinity. In February, she revealed in L'Equipe that she had used hormonal treatment to lower her testosterone levels before the 2024 Olympics.

Asked by AFP about her intentions regarding the Los Angeles Games in 2028, while the International Olympic Committee announced in March to restore femininity tests for these Olympics, including a search for the SRY gene, Imane Khelif simply replied that she had "filed a complaint against World Boxing", which had deprived her of the Eindhoven tournament, and that she wanted to "concentrate on the professional career".

“There is no point in her repeating the Olympics, I advised her against it. The point is to go for all the world titles,” emphasized her coach.

“I no longer want her to become an amateur, the interest is for her to be the greatest female boxing champion,” added Yacin Berrabah.

© 2026 AFP

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