The International Boxing Association (IBA) which manages Elite boxing but does not have Olympic status, says it will award Italy's Angela Carini the Olympic champion prize money although she lost her welterweight round-of-16 bout against Algeria's Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
In a statement, the association explained that IBA President Umar Kremelev has decided that Carini will receive the prize as if she had become Olympic champion.
Carini pulled out in the first round after the Algerian boxer, who is at the centre of a gender row, pummelled her with a barrage of punches.
The prize consists of $100,000, of which $50,000 will go to Carini, $25,000 to her coach and $25,000 to the Italian boxing federation (FPI), which however recently left IBA to join the 'World Boxing'.
"I couldn't look at her tears", Kremlev was quoted as saying in a statement published by IBA on Friday.
"I am not indifferent to such situations, and I can assure that we will protect each boxer.
"I do not understand why they kill women's boxing.
"Only eligible athletes should compete in the ring for the sake of safety", he said. IBA, which was the previous organizer of Olympic boxing, has been a vocal critic of the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow Algeria's Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting to compete at the Paris Olympics after being disqualified from last year's World Championships over failed gender eligibility tests.
However, later on Thursday the Italian boxing federation (FPI) said it would not accept money from IBA.
The FPI's statement did not mention Carini, however federation sources claimed the boxer would also not accept the prize.
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