Boxing: Mandatory Sex Testing
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
World Boxing, the provisional international governing body of the sport, has announced that mandatory sex testing will be introduced in July 2025 in order "to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women."
In announcing its new policy, it named the Algerian boxer, who was allowed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), based on the gender stated in the boxer’s Passport, to compete in the women's welterweight title at the 2024 Paris Olympics, in which the boxer went on to win a gold medal.
Its President, Boris van der Vorst, has since written to the Algerian Boxing Federation to apologise for this naming and stating that "the athlete's privacy should have been protected."
Under the new policy, all athletes, over the age of 18 wishing 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.
This will apply to the Algerina boxer for future participation in World Boxing competitions.
The IOC stated that it "has always made it clear that eligibility criteria are the responsibility of the respective International Federation. The factors that matter to sports performance are unique to each sport, discipline, and/or event.”
And added that "we await the full details of how sex testing will be implemented in a safe, fair and legally enforceable way."
The latter point, of course, is the key to this matter!
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
