Ryan Garcia has ripped into Olympic chiefs for allowing Algerian boxer Imane Khelif to compete against women in Paris, branding the decision a ‘joke’.
Khelif is at the center of fierce controversy this summer after being cleared to fight in the women’s category at the Paris Games despite question marks over her gender.
Last year the 25-year-old, who is a biological female, was thrown out of the world championships after allegedly failing tests which proved she has male ‘XY chromosomes’.
And to further fuel the controversy, this week Khelif battered Italian opponent Angela Carini into submission just 46 seconds into her opening Olympics bout.
Several athletes and high-profile figures have fumed over the decision to allow her to compete, with Garcia taking to social media to express his anger on Thursday.
Ryan Garcia has ripped into Olympic chiefs for allowing Algerian boxer Imane Khelif (right) to compete against women
‘This b***h a** dude just beat a woman,’ the troubled boxer wrote about Khelif on X. ‘In no way should you be smirking b***h.
He then added: ‘Boxing in the Olympics is a joke’.
Garcia, who is currently serving a one-year ban from boxing after testing positive for a banned substance in the wake of his recent win over Devin Haney, was quoting a post from author JK Rowling on the platform when giving his take.
Rowling had shared a photo of Khelif smiling while consoling a teary Carini and said: ‘Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.’
Amid the outrage, on Thursday Olympic officials doubled down on their decision to allow both Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting – who was also thrown out of last year’s world championships for failing similar tests – to compete in Paris this summer.
‘They (Khelif and Yu-ting) were suddenly disqualified without any due process,’ the 557-word statement read before adding that, in line with previous Olympics, ‘the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport’.
Khelif is at the center of fierce controversy this summer after being cleared to fight in the women’s category at the Paris Games despite question marks over her gender
Garcia branded the decision to allow her to compete at the Paris Games a ‘joke’
He then admitted to having ‘wrong info’ despite choosing to stand by his original statement
‘Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination,’ the IOC said, before highlighting that its rules were based on the rules the IBA had in place before its forced withdrawal in 2023.
It also attacked ‘misleading information about two female athletes’, adding that the pair ‘have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category.’
Garcia went on to initially admit that he had the ‘wrong info’ when criticizing Khelif’s inclusion as a women’s boxer, before backtracking by standing by his original statement.
‘My bad wrong info but it still stands,’ he added. ‘Stop having men fight woman – F**k you wierdos [sic]’.