Just as it did for the IWF,the IOC established mandatory criteria that had to be satisfied before AIBA’s reinstatement would occur. Contrasted with the fortunes of the IWF,the IBA remains a pariah international governing body.

Boxing at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics operated without the involvement of the IBA. Currently,boxing isn’t on the program for Los Angeles 2028. What the world saw in Paris may well be the last of boxing at the Olympics.

The IBA,however it is repackaged and rebadged,is a complete joke of an organisation. The IOC’s stated position is that amateur boxing requires a new international governing body by 2025. A new organisation,World Boxing,was established less than two years ago. But World Boxing presently has less than 30 national federation members.

Whether the IOC’s requirements can be satisfied by World Boxing by the 2025 deadline is unknown.

Against the backdrop of that kaleidoscope of calamity,some points must be made. First,the Algerian boxing gold medallist Imane Khelif isn’t a transgender athlete. Nor is the Taiwanese boxer,Lin Yu-ting. Neither is “male”;neither ever was “male”,despite what J. K. Rowling might proclaim.

Each fighter has an unalienable right to be able to compete in their sport. The way the fighters were treated in Paris was appalling.

Second,it’s fairly recognised that for elite sport,whether a person has XX or XY chromosomes isn’t the best measure for eligibility to compete in the female category. Instead,testosterone levels are of particular importance. Certain women,assigned as female at birth and growing up as women,nonetheless can have atypical differences of sex development (DSD) which include testosterone levels higher than the typical female range,and male chromosomes.

Third,the IBA’sTechnical and Competition Rulesdated March 3,2024 do define gender by specific reference to chromosomes and seemingly undignified “random and/or targeted” gender testing. It’s not certain how the IBA goes about this testing.

If there’s a suggestion that one or both athletes have a DSD condition,then nothing the IBA has done up to this point should be relied on. The fact all of this has played out in a public slanging match between the IOC and the IBA is disgraceful.

In contrast,World Athletics – the international federation notoriously strict on such matters involving athletes including Dutee Chand and Caster Semenya,and which has been involved in protracted fights in the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss Federal Tribunal – eschews any consideration of chromosome types.

Instead,WA’sEligibility Rules for the Female Classificationstipulate two criteria:An athlete with one of six specified DSD conditions must (a) be recognised at law (for example,on a passport) as being female or intersex;and (b) continuously maintain the concentration of testosterone in their system below a 2.5 nanomoles per litre,for at least 24 months.

As much as the management of the IBA best resembles an unscripted episode ofLooney Tunes,the process by which Khelif and Lin were disqualified by the IBA from its 2023 World Championships must be viewed with even greater scepticism.

The IBA’s position,as to the truth on any matter of controversy,shouldn’t be accepted in the absence of independent and verifiable evidence. Unless a proper evidentiary basis can be established,the fact each fighter was disqualified by the IBA in its world title tournament in March 2023 must be treated with wariness.

The IOC’s rules applied to boxing in Paris meant that any boxer need only be recognised at law,on a passport or birth certificate,as female in order to fight in the female category. Compare that to World Athletics’ 27-page policy.

Because,finally,the stark actuality is this. Depending on the sport concerned,the rigour of rules and systems around the participation of DSD athletes at the elite level might be more or less important – or maybe not needed at all. It’s difficult to see how such rules would be important in a sport like target shooting.

At the other end of the spectrum,there’s no other sport at the Olympics besides boxing in which it’s more vital to get correct the rules that govern the participation of DSD athletes.

Noting there’s no path to redemption for the IBA,if World Boxing fills the void to the IOC’s satisfaction by 2025,it’s mandatory that it develops comprehensive,intelligible and fit-for-purpose rules regarding DSD athletes and their participation in the sport. Presently,while World Boxing has aGender Equality and Inclusivity Policy,it’s silent on issues concerning DSD athletes’ participation.

These issues,as far as boxing is concerned,are crucial for two reasons. First,it may well be that the Olympic gold medallist Khelif’s naturally-occurring levels of testosterone (whatever they are) are too high to be safe,in boxing,and too distortive of the fairness of competition. Neither the IBA’s rules,nor the IOC’s,enable verification.

Moreover,boxing is one of those sports where combatants do die. It’s through that prism that the sport’s rules must be constructed. The sport’s governing bodies and administrators must ensure that lackadaisical approaches to rule-making don’t constitute a basis for the deconstruction of the sport.