French Female Boxers Barred from World Championships over Genetic Testing Deadline

French female boxers were barred from competing at the inaugural World Boxing Championships in Liverpool due to failing to meet a deadline for mandatory genetic sex testing introduced by World Boxing, the sport's new governing body. The French Boxing Federation (FFBoxe) argued that the testing policy conflicted with French law, which prohibits such tests without a medical prescription, and cited delays in receiving test results from a UK laboratory that prevented timely registration. World Boxing maintained that all federations were warned of the testing requirements and deadlines well in advance, placing responsibility for compliance on national federations. The French federation condemned the situation as a bureaucratic failure and a profound injustice that unfairly penalized their athletes, a sentiment echoed by French sports officials and the affected boxers. The controversy follows scrutiny over gender verification in boxing after last year's Olympics and has sparked broader debate about the appropriateness of such testing protocols in sport. This incident has highlighted tensions between international regulatory demands and national laws protecting athlete privacy.