Former world champion boxer Amir Khan has been hit with a two-year ban after testing positive for a banned substance. UK Anti-Doping said Khan, 36, returned a positive result for the anabolic agent ostarine following his loss to Kell Brook in Manchester in February 2022.
The Bolton-born boxer says he did not intentionally take the substance. Despite retiring in 2022, Khan has been handed a two-year ban from all sport following the result, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Khan accepted a violation of anti-doping rules but said he had not intentionally ingested the substance, an argument accepted by an independent panel following a hearing in January. The ban is deemed to have begun on April 6 of last year and will run to April 5 next year.
A UKAD statement said: “Mr Khan’s two-year ban is deemed to have commenced on April 6 2022 (the date his provisional suspension was imposed) and will expire on April 5 2024.” The panel ruled out 'deliberate or reckless conduct', reports say.
Speaking to Sky News reporters outside his home, Khan said: "I've never cheated.
"I'm a retired fighter - you could see by my performance, my performance against Kell Brook wasn't the best. I lost the fight. I've never cheated in my life."
Khan unified world titles at super-lightweight and faced pound-for-pound stars Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Terence Crawford during a 40-fight career, featuring 34 wins and six defeats.
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The Bolton fighter had launched his pro career in 2005 after winning an Olympic silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games. He has also starred in the reality gameshow I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and his own BBC reality TV show, Meet the Khans: Big in Bolton.
He is due to make a second appearance on I'm a Celebrity, this time based in South Africa, later this month.
