YouTuber and WWE superstar Logan Paul has backtracked on inflammatory comments made about 2024 Paris Olympics boxer Imane Khelif after branding her a 'man beating up a woman on the global stage'.
Algerian fighter Khelif took to the boxing ring at the Paris Games on Thursday (1 August) in a round of 16 bout against Angela Carini of Italy.
But Carini, 25, withdrew from the fight after just 46 seconds, saying she had 'never been hit so hard' in her life.
Since the dramatic fight, controversy surrounded Khelif's ability to compete in the Olympics after it emerged she was banned last year from competing in women's events by the International Boxing Association (IBA).
Despite getting to the gold medal bout in the 2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships, Khelif was banned before taking to the ring for the medal.
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This was after organisers made her do a DNA test that, they say, showed she had the male XY chromosome.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the reason for her removal from the IBA tournament was due to elevated levels of testosterone.
Given that the IBA doesn't run the Olympic boxing events - that responsibility falls to the IOC - Khelif has been allowed to compete in the women's competition after she met the criteria it set out.
The Algerian Olympic Committee has since come to Khelif's defence, backing their 'champion and heroine' following on from intense social media backlash.
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One such person to get involved in the social media commentary was American influencer Logan Paul.
In one post - which he has since deleted - Paul described Khelif competing in the women's event as the 'purest form of evil unfolding right before your eyes'.
He also wrongly referred to Khelif as a 'man beating up a woman on a global stage'.
The full, now deleted statement, said: "This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before your eyes. A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life's dream while fighting for her deceased father. This delusion must end."
But acknowledging his words weren't quite correct - Khelif has never identified as a man, for example - Paul rectified his words somewhat.
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He wrote: "OOPSIES! I might be guilty of spreading misinformation along with the entirety of this app.
"Although she’s been previously disqualified for failing a 'gender test' and has XY chromosomes, some sources say Imane Khelif was born a biological woman.
"I stand by my sentiment that biological men should not compete against biological women in any sport and if you disagree you’re a sick f**k."
Paul's brother, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, also took to social media to comment on the controversy, offering Italy's Angela Carini a place on the undercard of a future boxing event put on by his company, MVP.
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The younger Paul brother also referred to Khelif as 'a man'. He has not yet moved to clarify this, as his brother has done.
Topics: Boxing, Celebrity, Logan Paul, Olympics, Social Media, Sport, US News, World News, Imane Khelif
Tom Earnshaw