By Amber Harding

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Angela Carini, the Italian boxer who famously forfeited her Olympic match against Imane Khelif last summer, says the aftermath of that decision nearly broke her. Carini walked out of the women’s welterweight match just 46 seconds into the bout after absorbing a flurry of punches from Khelif — an athlete with reportedly XY chromosomes who went on to win Olympic gold in the women’s division. After the loss, Carini cried, explaining that one punch from the Algerian boxer “hurt too much.” Now, more than a year later, Carini says the incident left deep emotional scars and “destroyed” her career. In a video posted to Instagram on Thursday, Carini revealed the extent of the online harassment she received after the loss — sharing screenshots of messages calling her “a coward” and “the shame of the Italy team.” Others begged her not to return to the ring at all. “Have you ever wondered how hard it was for me to face these words? What I had to endure and endure day after day?” Carini asked in a voiceover. “What I had to face in my silence, while preserving my health from a stupid social network, from people who speak and say words without thinking twice? “For many it is easy to forget the past, but for me it wasn’t,” she continued. “That past that marked my life. That past that left wounds inside me that I try to heal day after day, but like an infected wound, it bleeds and hurts. “That past that changed and destroyed my career, built year after year with sacrifices, dedication, tenacity and a lot of passion… That career that is underestimated and belittled by those who preferred to have a laugh for a few moments, preferred to throw the stone.” Angela Carini Faced Online Harassment After Refusing To Continue Bout With Imane Khelif Imane Khelif, who was previously disqualified from the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championship for failing a sex eligibility test, delivered what Carini called “the most powerful punch” she had ever absorbed in her career. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who was disqualified from that same tournament for failing a sex eligibility test, won Olympic gold in the women’s featherweight division. The decision to allow both Lin and Khelif — who reportedly have male XY chromosomes — to compete in the women’s category at the Paris Olympics drew criticism from across the world and ultimately sparked a policy change in elite women’s boxing. This summer, World Boxing implemented a new policy requiring all athletes competing in the women’s division to undergo genetic sex testing. Khelif has refused to take the test and is currently appealing the policy. READ: Imane Khelif Plays The Victim, Calls Mandatory Sex Testing ‘Unfair’ In Boxing As for Carini, she says the abuse she received online following the Olympics forced her into silence. “After Paris, I closed myself in silence with my family and tried to rebuild [myself] in small pieces,” she said. But she didn’t give up. Just months later, Carini returned to the ring, winning her eighth Italian title and gold at the World Boxing Cup in Poland. “Putting all the disappointment aside, I got back into that ring, reconfirming myself as Italian champion and bringing home medals from important international tournaments,” Carini said. “Getting back into that ring was a tough challenge.” She ended her video with a message to her critics: “These words of mine will not change the world. I will not make people become kinder. But at least I invite everyone to reflect… A word, a gesture, a command can hurt and destroy a person.”