Fighter who fought Imane Khelif claims boxer who addressed gender issue is ‘a MAN’ – and exposes Algerian camp’s bizarre claims about how she was ‘biologically engineered’

A former training opponent of Olympic gold-winning boxer Imane Khelif has called the Algerian “a man” and suggested she has been “biologically changed” by her life in the mountains.

The claim comes after the Paris Games, where Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting both won Olympic gold in boxing, while coming under heavy fire worldwide over their gender.

Bulgarian-Nigerian boxer Joana Nwamerue now calls Khelif a “man,” explaining how she witnessed the Olympic champion’s “manly strength and manly techniques” during a sparring session in February.

‘[Khelif] has some kind of internal problems. But he is a man. I stay [by] my words until he/she takes a test to prove to the world that he/she is a woman. But we all know that will not happen,’ Nwamerue said Reduxx.

“I think we had 3-4 sparring sessions. I have a report of everything. I can confirm that this is a man for me. Manly power. Manly techniques, everything,” she added.

A training opponent of Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif called the Algerian ‘a man’

Khelif won gold at the Paris Olympics, but faced controversy over her participation.

Bulgarian-Nigerian boxer Joana Nwamerue (pictured) has labeled Khelif a ‘man’

Nwamerue claimed her coaching team told her that Khelif had been “biologically changed” by living in the mountain ranges of Algeria.

Nwamerue added: ‘[Khelif’s] Teammates came to me and said, ‘Imane is not a man.

“She’s a woman and she lives high up in the mountains with her relatives and parents. So there could be a change in her testosterone or chromosomes and things like that.”

Khelif was born female and is not transgender. She was banned last year after the International Boxing Association (IBA) conducted medical tests that showed she had high levels of testosterone in her system.

She had previously competed without any problems and was only disqualified by the federation after she defeated Russian boxer Azalia Amineva in the 2023 tournament. The IBA is headed by Umar Kremlev, who is Russian and brought in state energy supplier Gazprom as the main sponsor and moved much of the federation’s activities to Russia.

Her coach, Georges Cazorla, has confirmed that the tests revealed “a problem with hormones” and “with chromosomes”, suggesting she may have the XY chromosomes characteristic of males.

“This poor young girl was devastated, devastated when she suddenly discovered that she might not be a girl,” he told the French magazine Le Point.

The debate over Khelif’s participation during the Games did not go unnoticed by the athlete herself. She was moved to tears after winning her quarter-final and hit back at her critics as she wore the gold medal around her neck.

The 25-year-old has faced multiple questions about her status in the gender dispute in boxing at the Games

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting (left) also faced controversy over her participation in the Olympics

“For eight years this was my dream and now I am an Olympic champion and gold medalist,” Khelif said Friday.

“That also gives my success a special touch because of those attacks. We are at the Olympic Games to perform as athletes, and I hope that we will not see similar attacks at the Olympic Games in the future.

“I am fully qualified to participate in this competition. I am a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman and I am qualified.”

Khelif received a hero’s welcome in Algeria on Monday when she returned from France with her gold medal. She was greeted by hundreds of fans at Houari Boumediene airport in Algiers to celebrate the success.

However, last weekend, Khelif was challenged by Donald Trump while giving a speech at a rally in Montana.

“Who wants men to compete in women’s sports? I want to congratulate the young woman who went from being a man to being a woman. He… She won gold,” Trump said.

“And what about that woman, that beautiful woman, from Italy? She went there and had no idea what was going on. She’s a very good boxer – but only against other women.”

Khelif celebrates winning gold at the Paris Olympics after facing heavy criticism in France

He was referring to Angela Carini, who last week gave up her fight with Khelif after 46 seconds after being punched in the nose. She was in tears and said she had never been hit so hard.

Trump reenacted the blow and then said, “He did this. She immediately said, ‘Wow, nobody’s ever hit me that hard.’

“Then he does it again and she immediately gives up.”