PH
Amir Khan, the former light-welterweight world champion, said he would “never cheat” after receiving a two-year suspension from all sports for testing positive for a prohibited substance.
Khan, 36, tested positive for the anabolic agent ostarine after losing to Kell Brook in Manchester in February 2022, according to UK Anti-Doping.
Khan, who announced his retirement in May of last year, admitted to violating anti-doping rules but claimed he had not ingested the substance on purpose, an argument accepted by an independent panel.
“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 told Sky News.
Khan was notified of his own positive result in April 2022 and given a provisional suspension, with charges filed in July after announcing his retirement with a 34-6 professional record.
Following the hearing in January of this year, the National Anti-Doping Panel accepted Khan’s claim that he did not intentionally take the substance, but imposed the ban on the basis of strict liability.
Ostarine is a drug designed to have similar effects to testosterone.
“You can see by 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,” added Khan.
“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.”
The ban is deemed to have commenced on 6 April 2022, when his provisional suspension was imposed, and will expire on 5 April 2024.
UKAD 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.”
Khan rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after winning a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics at the age of 17.
He made his professional debut in July 2005 and four years later defeated Andreas Kotelnik in Manchester to win the WBA light-welterweight title.
Khan won the WBA and IBF titles with a win over Zab Judah in 2011, but lost his next fight to Lamont Peterson, who later tested positive for synthetic testosterone.
