April 04, (THEWILL) – Former light-welterweight world champion, Amir Khan, has been hit with a two-year ban from all sports after testing positive for a prohibited substance.
UK Anti-Doping confirmed on Tuesday, that Khan had returned a positive result for the anabolic agent ostarine following his loss to Kell Brook in Manchester, in February 2022. The 36-year-old has accepted a violation of anti-doping rules but maintains he had not intentionally ingested the substance.
“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. 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.
Khan was first notified of his positive result in April 2022 and given a provisional suspension, with charges following in July after he had announced his retirement with a 34-6 professional record.
Following the hearing in January 2025, the National Anti-Doping Panel accepted Khan’s submission that he had not taken the substance intentionally but imposed the ban on the basis of strict liability. The ban commenced on April 6, 2022, when his provisional suspension was imposed, and will expire on 5 April 2024.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
