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Joana Nwamerue, a female boxer from Bulgarian-Nigerian origin, came forward to make a startling claim that Imane Khelif is a man. The 33-year-old, who took on Imane Khelif during a sparring match in Sofia, spoke about how the Algerian had “male power” and used “male techniques” to box prior to the Paris Olympics 2024.
Notably, Imane Khelif won the gold medal for Algeria in the women’s welterweight division at the Paris Olympics 2024, but she was in the centre of a massive gender row during the Games. In the round of 16 clash, when Italian Angela Carini abandoned the bout against Imane Khelif in just 46 seconds, citing that she “never felt a punch” like how the Algerian delivered to her, sparking a major controversy at the Olympic Games.
Imane Khelif is a man: Joana Nwamerue
While speaking to Reduxx, the undefeated Joana Nwamerue added fuel to the fire as far as the Imane Khelif gender row is concerned. She said, “(Imane) Khelif has some kind of internal issues. But he is a man. I will stay by my words until he/she does a test to prove to the world that he/she is a woman. But we all know that won’t happen.”
Nwamerue spoke about how Khelif wasn’t respectful to her during their sparring session in February 2024 ahead of Strandzha Cup in Bulgaria, claiming that the Algerian mocked her by sticking the tongue out and smiling at her. “I think we played 3-4 sparring sessions. I have a record of everything. I can confirm that this is a man to me. Male power. Men’s techniques, everything,” she added.
The Bulgarian-Nigerian origin boxer also had concerns for the safety of the female boxers, who are going to face Imane Khelif in the near future. Joana Nwamerue said, “I’m a tomboy, I take a lot of hits and I know how to hold on. But the other girls are not so strong.”
