Amir Khan breaks his silence after he tests positive for a banned substance
Amir Khan has broken his silence after he tested positive for a banned substance, resulting in a two-year ban in all sports.
Khan has been given a two-year ban from all sports after he returned a positive result for the anabolic agent ostarine following his defeat to Kell Brook back in February 2022.
The 36-year-old accepted a violation of anti-doping rules, but insists he did NOT intentionally ingest the substance.
He spoke to Sky Sports after testing positive for ostarine as he claims he 'never cheated' in the build-up to his fight against Brook.
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"I've never cheated, I'm a retired fighter," he said. "You can see by my performance vs Kell Brook. I lost. If I went in there and knocked Brook out it's different. I've never cheated in my life."
Boxxer chief Ben Shalom, who promoted the super-fight between Khan and Brook, said he found out about the Bolton native's positive test and ban on social media after the news broke.
He claims he didn't know anything about it before today's revelation. He also said that the British Boxing Board of Control's (BBBofC) Robert Smith told him he only found out yesterday.
In a statement, UK anti-doping 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."
Khan suffered a crushing defeat against Brook, who stopped his rival in the sixth round.
He subsequently called time on his legendary career, having fought the likes of Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez.
Khan, who won a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics, unified world titles at super-lightweight after beating Andreas Kotelnik to claim the WBA title then stopped Zab Judah to capture the IBF version.
Khan had not been linked with a return to boxing, but will have to wait two years before he can compete should he want to lace up the gloves again.
Nasir Jabbar