Amir Khan maintains he has never cheated and that he therefore does not now how he tested positive for the banned substance ostarine.
Khan announced his retirement after losing to Kell Brook in 2022, after which he tested positive in a drugs test overseen by UK Anti-Doping.
UKAD announced the development more than a year later, when explaining that from April 2022 he had also been banned for two years.
For all of his contentment with a fine career, Khan insists that it pains him that there will be those who consider him a drugs cheat. He is also adamant that his retirement is the only reason he has not fought harder to clear his name.
“I wish I knew,” Khan responded when asked how the substance could have made its way into his system. He and Brook have both confirmed that it was Khan who pushed for the testing that surrounded their fight. “If I did know, and I’d given a valid reason to UKAD, I’d have been okay.
“The only little hint of sadness in my career is the drug-testing thing. If you look at the amount that was found in my blood — everyone has said this, but — UKAD have done a statement. They said that it’s unintentional, and instead of giving me a four-year ban, they gave me a two-year ban. You know why? Because I didn’t have the source to prove how it got into my system. If I’d given them the source of how it got into my system, I would have won the case. It’s not like I lost the case, because they said that I didn’t cheat. I’m not a cheater.
“It’s a bit of a sad thing, because it wasn’t going to give me any benefit, what was found in my system. It wasn’t going to give me any benefit in the fight. It wasn’t going to make me any stronger; any faster. I’ll give you an example, the amount that was in my body — say you got an Olympic-sized swimming pool; one grain of salt. That’s all they found — that’s the equivalent. That’s what it was.
“I’d have gone to UKAD and done a full investigation and made sure my name come out clean. It was just because I retired [that I didn’t]. ‘It makes no difference. I’m not going to fight again.’ But the [uncertainty, from the public’s perspective]…
“It could have been from drinking from someone’s drink. A lot of my friends are on steroids, because they want to be big. The new thing is that everyone wants to be on steroids. I might have shared a drink with someone. But I’ve never cheated in boxing.”
Khan, 36, remained on his feet that night at the Manchester Arena despite taking significant punishment from the powerful Brook, and despite so often being vulnerable during his career. He was also working with then-trainer Brian “Bomac” McIntyre for the first time.
“That was roadwork from Bomac,” he explained. “Trust me. A lot of people will be saying, ‘Maybe because he was taking something’. I’ve not really heard anyone say that, but if you think about it, I did all that roadwork — the training was different. It’s all in the book [Khan's autobiography Fight For Your Life].
“We would run every day. The amount of exercise that we did on the legs — I’ve realised now, maybe me going down [previously] was probably not my chin. I think it’s not having the strongest legs. Kell Brook is a hard hitter. He’s a big puncher — and he didn’t put me down, and he caught me with a good shot, but my legs still kept me up. It was the strength in the legs that kept me standing.”
