Boxing: Imane Khelif to make professional debut on 15 December in Paris
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on La Presse de Tunisie
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, the Olympic under-66 kg champion at Paris 2024, will fight her first professional bout on 15 December 2026 in Paris, at super-welterweight, against the Dutchwoman Clarida Sarabia. Her return to the ring comes after more than two years' absence due to injury, according to the announcement made at a press conference reported by La Presse de Tunisie.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, the Olympic welterweight champion at the Paris 2024 Games, will make her professional debut on 15 December in Paris against the Dutchwoman Clarida Sarabia, it was announced at a press conference held on Friday 6 November 2026 in the French capital. The fight will take place at the Maison de la Mutualité, at super-welterweight (under 69.8 kg), a category above the one in which she made her name as an amateur.
Initially scheduled for April, the debut was postponed because of an injury sustained in training. "It has been more than two years since I fought and I have missed competition enormously. I live for boxing and I can't wait to get back in the ring, for myself and for my public," said the 27-year-old fighter. She had not fought since winning her Olympic title in August 2024 in Paris, the city that is therefore hosting her return to the ring.
In June 2025, Imane Khelif was unable to take part in the tournament in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, after the federation World Boxing introduced a mandatory chromosome test for participants.
