Boxing

The fight marked the end of a long, emotional Olympic saga for Khelif, who won Algeria's seventh gold medal all time.

Her name is Cindy Ngamba and — despite losing in the semifinal bout of the women’s 75-kilogram boxing competition — she is the first-ever medalist for the Olympic refugee team. Going up against Panama’s Atheyna Bylon, Ngamba dropped the first round to the tall southpaw on all five scorecards despite keeping her left foot mostly on the outside of Bylon’s right — a common battle for prime position between opponents with opposing dominant hands. Ngamba came back swinging in the second, earning four of the five judges’ votes. Bylon regained the edge in the third and...

PARIS — The International Boxing Association, the organization whose decision to disqualify Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan from the 2023 world championships is at the heart of a firestorm engulfing the Olympic tournament, hosted a news conference on Monday “dedicated to the detailed explanation of the reasons for the disqualification” of the two fighters. Instead, what followed was a two-hour affair of little explanation, a great deal of obfuscation, and a series of evasive answers to reporters’ questions that did nothing to back up the IBA’s claims that the women...

Boxer Cindy Ngamba clinched the first medal of any kind for the Olympic refugee team Sunday at North Paris Arena, guaranteeing herself at least a bronze with a win against France’s Davina Michel in the women’s 75-kilogram quarterfinals. The Olympics do not hold bronze medal bouts in boxing, so Ngamba will receive a medal win or lose in the semifinals. She fights Panama’s Atheyna Bibeichi Bylon next on Thursday, when boxing moves to Roland Garros. “It means the world to me to be the first refugee team member to win a medal,” Ngamba said. “I’m just...

Forty-six seconds was all the world needed to sidetrack the 2024 Olympics into a heated controversy about the gender of two boxers.

VILLEPINTE, France — Following days of furor surrounding the Olympic eligibility of women’s boxer Imane Khelif, the Algerian’s quarterfinal bout against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori went on as planned Saturday. The result: a Khelif victory, an emotional outpouring and a frenzied media circus. Khelif won in a unanimous decision at North Paris Arena, taking each round of the three-round quarterfinal in the 66-kilogram (145-pound) division. Because Olympic boxing does not have a bronze medal bout, she is now assured a medal in the 2024 Games, no matter what happens in her semifinal. For all...

Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, told reporters on Saturday that two women in the boxing tournament who have had their eligibility questioned did not have differences in sex development. But minutes after his news conference ended, the IOC corrected him, backing off of Bach’s description and saying he meant to say that the women were not transgender. The confusion struck at the heart of the fraught debate that has overshadowed boxing at these Paris Games and played into wider conversations about women in sports, brought on by administrative fighting that...

Angela Carini of Italy doesn’t like how the conversation about Olympic women’s boxing has turned. She was knocked out of her opening fight Thursday in 46 seconds, but told the Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport that she felt sorry for the winner, Imane Khelif of Algeria, who has faced uncomfortable questions and speculation about her gender and medical status as part of a wave of debate online. Carini was sad that she lost, ending her Olympic competition. She said she didn’t feel Khelif did anything wrong by beating her. “All this controversy certainly made me...

The contentious topic of gender in sport has made its way into a debate about how boxing is run at the Olympics, turning a murky administrative fight into the latest stage for combative arguments about how women should be allowed to compete. Two boxers, Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, were approved to fight in women’s divisions at the Paris Games under guidance that relied in part on their passports and a medical clearance to determine they could compete. However, they were disqualified from the 2023 World Championships because the governing body for the event, the...

The World Boxing Council, one of the four major boxing governing bodies, expelled boxer Ryan Garcia for “discrimination,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said Thursday on X. “We reject any form of discrimination. I fear for (Ryan’s) well being as he has declined multiple attempts for our help with mental health and substance abuse,” Sulaiman said. Sulaiman did not disclose additional details about the incident. The Associated Press reported Garcia “repeatedly used racial slurs against Black people and disparaged Muslims in comments livestreamed on social...

Germany’s once-in-a-generation playmaker and the art of the ultimate retirement in professional sport

Oleksandr Usyk will no longer be the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion after revealing he is vacating his IBF title. The Ukrainian, 37, became the first undisputed champ in the four-belt era when he beat Tyson Fury to claim the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF belts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last month. Usyk is set to rematch Fury later this year, as per the terms of the two-fight contract signed by both fighters, meaning he won’t be able to defend his IBF crown against mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois. Dubois is now expected to meet fellow Brit heavyweight Anthony Joshua for the title...

Less than two months after Ryan Garcia stunned the boxing world by defeating WBC super lightweight champ Devin Haney via majority decision, the controversial boxer said he’s “officially retired” in a string of posts on X. “I’ll still be training but I’m hurt and done with it and everyone,” Garcia said in one post. “The sad part is I’m a great boxer. And I entertain and knock people out. I’m sad bc I (love) boxing.” He shared in a following post, “I’m officially retired.” I’m officially retired — RYAN GARCIA...

LAS VEGAS — Frank “The Ghost” Martin became easier to see the more the fight went on, and undefeated lightweight Gervonta “Tank” Davis caught him with a left hook in the eighth round for a knockout Saturday night in front of 13,249 fans at MGM Grand Garden Arena. “I knew he was going to tire out,” Davis said, “and then I started picking him apart.” Davis, the WBA world champion, walked out to the ring to the “Ghostbusters” theme song with a big smile. Martin was the more active fighter and won most of the early rounds, but Davis started to wind up on some...

"I am not going anywhere," Benavidez said. "Canelo and I will definitely see each other in the ring soon."