Khan given two-year ban after failing drugs test

British boxer Amir Khan has been banned from all sport for two years after testing positive for a prohibited substance following his fight against Kell Brook in February last year.

Khan lost to bitter rival Brook at Manchester’s AO Arena, in what was the Bolton fighter’s first bout in two and a half years, when the referee stopped the contest in round six.

It proved to be the 2004 Olympic silver medallist’s final fight as he decided to hang up his gloves three months later aged 35 after 34 wins from 40 fights.

But the former light-welterweight world champion had tested positive for ostarine – a drug designed to have similar effects to testosterone – after the Brook fight.

“I’ve never cheated,” Khan said on Sky News yesterday. “I’m a retired fighter. At the same time you can see my performance against Kell Brook wasn’t the best, I lost the fight. If I went in there and knocked Kell Brook out it’s different.

“I’ve never cheated in my life. I’m the one that wanted testing on that fight. Also, the amount that was in my system could have been by shaking people’s hands. I don’t know the drug that was in my system. Ostarine?

“I would never cheat. I’m a retired fighter. I’ve got a two-year ban now, which is quite strange and funny that they banned me. I’ve already retired. I’ve no comeback plans at all.”

Khan has accepted he broke anti-doping rules but said it was not intentional. An independent tribunal in turn accepted that argument, ruling out “deliberate or reckless conduct” by the 36-year-old. The ban from all sport is deemed to have begun on April 6, 2022, and expires on April 5, 2024.

Khan admitted straight after the devastating defeat to old foe Brook – in a 149lb catchweight bout – that his time in boxing might well be over. “I’ll sit down with my family but I think it could be,” Khan said when asked whether this could be his last fight. “It’s something to think about, definitely.

And a few months later, Khan’s sparkling career was over. “It’s time to hang up my gloves,” he said in a short statement on Twitter.

Khan was first notified of his positive result in April last year and given a provisional suspension, with charges following in July.

UK Anti-Doping chief executive Jane Rumble said: “This case serves as a reminder that UKAD will diligently pursue anti-doping rule violations in order to protect clean sport.

“Strict liability means athletes are ultimately responsible for what they ingest and for the presence of any prohibited substances in a sample.”