An Olympic Boxing Hall of Famer says a women's boxing match involving a fighter perceived to have masculine traits is a "black eye" for the sport

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EXCLUSIVE:An Olympic boxing match between Algeria's Imane Khelif and Italy's Angela Carini sparked controversy in the sports world on Thursday.

Khelif's participation in the Paris bout came with condemnation as the Algerian fighter failed a gender eligibility test and was deemed to have male chromosomes during the 2023 World Championships, which were sanctioned by the International Boxing Association.

Carini abandoned the fight after 46 seconds, but boxing legend Jackie Kallen told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the fight should never have happened in the first place.

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Boxing manager Jackie Kallen says the fight between Algeria's Imane Khelif and Italy's Angela Carini should never have happened. (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images/File)

Angela Carini of Italy is shown during her fight against Imane Khelif of Algeria (not seen) on August 1, 2024, in Paris. (Fabio Bozzani/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“I just feel this way because it's been banned in every other contact sport. I'm disappointed that someone in the Olympic Committee allowed this to happen while the whole world was watching,” Kallen said. “It's just a black mark on the sport of boxing. We already have enough problems with people seeing the sport as brutal or finding other things to complain about. But this really doesn't help us at all.”

Kallen is a pioneer in this male-dominated sport. She overcame the challenges of managing some of the sport's biggest stars while guiding James Toney and Bronco McKart to world championships.

Known as the “First Lady of Boxing,” her life was the inspiration for the 2004 film “Against the Ropes,” directed by Meg Ryan. In 2023, she became the first female manager to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Kallen knows firsthand the difference in hand-to-hand combat when it comes to combat sports and the difference between a man and a woman.

Jackie Kallen appears with then boxer James Toney (Holly Stein/ALLSPORT/Archive)

SOCIAL MEDIA IS ANGRY WHEN AN OLYMPIC BOXER WHO THOUGHT HE HAD MALE CHROMOSOMES WINS A FIGHT IN LESS THAN 1 MINUTE

“Someone could be seriously hurt,” she told Fox News Digital. “For this young girl to have been beaten and have had her dreams shattered is just wrong.”

Carini said Thursday that one of Khelif's punches “hurt too much,” prompting Carini to withdraw.

Algeria's Imane Khelif, right, and Italy's Angela Carini are pictured after the fight. (Reuters/Isabel Infantes)

IBA President Umar Kremlev said in 2023 that a test conducted at the time determined Khelif had “XY chromosomes.” The IBA said Wednesday that Khelif did not meet “the eligibility criteria to participate in women’s competition” and was determined to have “competitive advantages over women.”

The International Olympic Committee has cleared Khelif to fight.

“All those competing in the women's category comply with the eligibility rules of the competition,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. “Their passports show women and indicate that they are women.”

Kallen said that if it were up to her, she would remove Khelif from the Olympics and allow Carini to move on.