By Gerardo Romero
02 Aug 2024, 08:31 AM EDT
Former world champion and boxing promoter Oscar de la Hoya did not hesitate to criticize the situation that occurred on Thursday in boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in which two fighters failed the gender tests and were still allowed to compete and then easily beat their opponents in the ring and managed to advance to the next round of the tournament.
The fighter made these statements during a video shared through his social networks in which he recalled the pride that it represented for him to have won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games; for this reason he highlighted the sadness he is feeling for seeing this type of actions during the Paris games and urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make better decisions in this regard.
“I am an Olympic gold medalist. I am very proud of that, it was the greatest achievement of my entire career. So I have to ask what is going on in Paris this year, where two biological men are competing against biological women in the sport of boxing,” De La Hoya said.
De la Hoya specifically spoke about the Olympic debut of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who needed just 47 seconds to force Italian Angela Carini to retire from the fight after a strong blow to the nose that she considered the “strongest” she had ever received in her life; the fight was questioned because many people classified the athlete as transgender, although she only has a genetic increase in testosterone that makes her stronger.
At the same time, this happened with the Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-thing, who debuted this Friday in the Olympic Games, which is why she questioned the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for accepting this type of events within the sport.
“The IOC allowed this to happen and says it’s okay because they are women on their passports? Wait, are you kidding me? There is no way these boxers can be on equal terms, it’s impossible and it’s scary, it’s shameful and it’s unfair,” the promoter stressed.
“I have lost all my respect for the IOC. It is dangerous and someone could get hurt, it is really crazy and I hate that we even have to talk about it. I will ask the IOC to ask if this will not happen in Los Angeles 2028,” concluded Oscar de la Hoya on his social networks.
Keep reading:
–Negotiations between ‘Camarón’ Zepeda and Shakur Stevenson confirmed
–Eddie Hearn attacks Canelo Alvarez after choosing Berlanga
–David Benavídez speaks out on the fight between Canelo Álvarez and Berlanga