evidence: Olympic boxer Imane Khelif's gender at center of IOC, IBA controversy Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is the target of controversy over her gender and sex after Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned their Olympics bout on Thursday after only 46 seconds. Shortly after the match, reports falsely surfaced saying that Khelif is a transgender woman; however, she is not and was assigned female at birth, according to the IOC.