Imane Khelif’s professional boxing debut will take place in Paris on December 15, with the Olympic champion facing Clarida Sarabia at super-welterweight. It will be Khelif’s first bout since she won 66kg gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024, ending a layoff of more than two years.
The 27-year-old Algerian announced the fight at a news conference on Friday, November 6, alongside coach Kamel Abdesselam and promoter Yacin Berrabah. She holds a professional licence issued by the French Boxing Federation.
“It’s been over two years since I last boxed, and I’ve really missed being in the ring,” Khelif said. “The last couple of years have been quite difficult. The time has come to turn professional, and I’m going to give it my all.”
The exact Paris venue, bout length and broadcaster have not yet been disclosed. Apparently, one confirmed date is enough administration for announcement day.
Who is Khelif fighting in Paris?
Sarabia arrives with more professional experience than the phrase “debut opponent” might suggest. Published boxing results listed her at 3-0 with three stoppage victories before she defeated Lina Tejada by fourth-round technical knockout on August 1. If those records are complete, she will enter the Khelif fight at 4-0, with every victory coming inside the distance.
The Unified Boxing Federation ranked Sarabia 12th at super-welterweight in October, while FightAnnex placed her 18th in the International Boxing Organization rankings.
Khelif won Olympic gold at 66kg. The professional super-welterweight division has a limit of 154 pounds, or 69.9kg, giving her slightly more room on the scales as she adjusts to the professional format.
Earlier reports suggested Berrabah was considering either December 11 at the Dôme de Paris or December 17 at Clichy Hall. The confirmed December 15 date replaces both provisional options, although the final venue remains under wraps.
Why was her original debut cancelled?
Khelif had initially been scheduled to turn professional on April 23 at Salle Wagram in Paris. That contest was expected to be fought over six two-minute rounds against Germany’s Julia Igel.
A shoulder injury suffered during training forced Khelif to withdraw and postpone her return. Reports at the time named former world champion Brahim Asloum as promoter and John Dovi as the coach directing the project.
The latest announcement instead places Berrabah and Abdesselam in charge. No explanation has been given for the apparent change in promoter, coach or opponent.
Abdesselam has already set an ambitious schedule. He predicted Khelif could win a world title “within three to five fights” and compared her potential with Muhammad Ali.
“We want to put Imane on top of the world,” he said.
That is a substantial target for a boxer who has yet to complete a professional round, although Olympic champions rarely enter the paid ranks with modest plans or modest press conferences.
What happens to Khelif’s Olympic eligibility?
Turning professional gives Khelif a competitive route separate from the unresolved dispute surrounding her amateur eligibility.
Khelif became the focus of an international argument over sex eligibility during the Paris Games. She was repeatedly and inaccurately described as transgender, despite being born female. The controversy concerned reports that testing identified the SRY gene, which is generally located on the Y chromosome.
In a February interview with French sports newspaper L’Équipe, Khelif said she underwent hormone treatment to reduce her testosterone before competing at Paris 2024.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport later confirmed that she had challenged World Boxing’s requirement for genetic sex testing. That appeal remains relevant to any attempted return to major amateur competition.
The International Olympic Committee’s policy announced in March 2026 also states that screening for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will identify the SRY gene. Khelif’s eligibility for LA28 therefore remains uncertain, regardless of what happens in her professional career.
For now, the immediate task is clearer: a new division, an unbeaten opponent and a December return in the city where she won Olympic gold. The wider eligibility dispute has not disappeared. It has simply acquired a separate professional subplot.
