World Boxing to introduce mandatory sex testing in July

London, May 30 (CNA) World Boxing, the sport's provisional international governing body under the Olympic movement, will require mandatory sex testing for athletes starting July 1 in a bid to ensure boxer safety.

"All athletes over the age of 18 who wish to participate in a World Boxing-owned or sanctioned competition will need to undergo a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) genetic test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility to compete," the organization said in a statement released Friday.

Athletes who refuse testing or fail to provide results will be barred from all World Boxing events, the organization said.

The PCR test is used to "detect specific genetic material ... that reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex," World Boxing said.

The new policy applies to those aiming to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, including Imane Khelif of Algeria, the women's welterweight gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The organization singled out Khelif in the statement, saying she will be barred from competing in the women's division at the upcoming Eindhoven Box Cup in early June and at future World Boxing-sanctioned events until she undergoes sex testing.

During last year's Paris Games, Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) were at the center of a gender controversy, despite the International Olympic Committee (IOC) repeatedly affirming their eligibility to compete as female boxers.

Both Khelif and Lin were disqualified from the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championships after their semifinal bouts, as the International Boxing Association (IBA) -- the event's organizer -- claimed they had failed a sex verification test.

IBA -- stripped of Olympic recognition by the IOC in 2023 over governance and financial issues -- reignited the controversy before and during the Paris Games, claiming tests showed Khelif and Lin carried Y chromosomes.

Under World Boxing's new policy, athletes with a Y chromosome or a difference of sexual development (DSD) accompanied by male androgenization will only be eligible to compete in the men's division.

The organization said women's events will be limited to athletes with XX chromosomes, no Y chromosome, or those with a DSD "where male androgenization does not occur."

National federations will conduct the tests and certify athletes' chromosomal status based on PCR results.

Boxers without valid certification will be disqualified, and federations that falsify results may face sanctions, World Boxing said.

The organization said the new policy is in its final stages and credited a working group from its Medical and Anti-Doping Committee with drafting the rules.

World Boxing's imminent policy comes against the backdrop of a new executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in February.

Under the title of "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," it urged the U.S. secretary of state to take measures ensuring the IOC revises the standards governing Olympic events.

At the time, Trump -- who strongly opposed Khelif's and Lin's participation in the women's category in Paris -- referred to both athletes as "transitioned," although both were born female.

The IOC unanimously voted to include boxing in the 2028 Games in March.