Imane Khelif Makes Her Professional Debut: “World Champion in Just a Few Fights”
Imane Khelif turns pro: The Algerian boxer will make her debut in the ring in Paris on December 15, with the goal of winning a world title soon. The 27-year-old North African, who controversially won an Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games, hasn’t fought in two years, and at a press conference she announced her return to the ring thanks to a license from the French boxing federation.
“It’s been a little over two years since I last fought, and I’ve really missed the ring. I live for this; I can’t wait to get back in the ring, for myself and for my fans,” she said, according to ANSA. “Things have been pretty complicated lately, after Paris 2024. The time had come to turn pro: I’ll give it my all.”
Khelif will fight in the super welterweight division (-69.8 kg) against Clarida Sarabia, an athlete registered in the Netherlands. “She’s a top-tier opponent, still undefeated with four wins, all by KO; it’s a real risk, but we have full confidence in Imane. She’ll be able to win a title belt quickly—it’ll take just three to five fights; she has the necessary potential,” said her coach Abdesselam.
After winning gold in Paris and the controversy that followed, Khelif was unable to compete in the World Boxing Championships in Eindhoven in June 2025 due to the introduction, one week earlier, of a mandatory chromosomal test by the international federation World Boxing.
