IMANE KHELIF is set to make a boxing comeback more than two years after being caught up in a gender eligibility storm at the Paris Olympics.

The Algerian, 27, will make her professional debut on December 15 against unbeaten Dutch fighter Clarida Sarabia in the French capital.

Khelif will face the 21-year-old, who boasts a perfect 4-0 record, in a six-round super-welterweight contest at the Maison de la Mutualite.

It will mark her first competitive fight since winning gold in the women’s welterweight division at the 2024 Olympics, where her triumph was overshadowed by a huge controversy surrounding her eligibility.

The row erupted after it emerged Khelif had been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by the International Boxing Association following disputed eligibility tests.

However, the International Olympic Committee questioned the legitimacy of the IBA’s testing process and cleared Khelif, who has consistently maintained that she is a woman, to compete in Paris.

Khelif had originally been due to launch her professional career against Julia Igel in April, only for an injury to force her to withdraw.

Announcing her long-awaited comeback, she said: “It’s been over two years since I last boxed, and I’ve really missed being in the ring.”

And in a promotional video shared on Instagram, she declared: “I waited, doubted. But deep inside, the fire never died.”

Her return comes after World Boxing, the governing body overseeing Olympic boxing at LA 2028, introduced mandatory sex testing for competitors last year.

Khelif appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against World Boxing’s decision to exclude her from its events without genetic testing, although a request to temporarily suspend that decision was rejected in September 2025.

And while Khelif has stopped short of ruling out another Olympic appearance in 2028, her coach Kamel Abdesselam insists she has no interest in returning to the Games, with his sights instead set on a professional world title.