Amir Khan has protested his innocence regarding the revelations on April 4th that he has been issued a two-year backdated ban for UKAD (United Kingdom Anti-Doping). The former unified super-lightweight world champion had failed an anti-doping test for the substance Ostarine. This anabolic agent was detected on February 19th of last year following his defeat to Kell Brook. The contest, which was held at the Manchester Arena, would be the last contest of Khan’s career following a successful career, including an Olympic silver medal for the Athens 2004 games.
Khan accepted the charge but protested his innocence when interviewed by sky sports. UKAD stated that the amount of the substance taken would not have benefited his performance.
“I have no idea [how the substance entered my body],” Khan told Sky Sports. “It could be meeting people, shaking people’s hands. The amount of Ostarine in my blood was 0.5, say, [in] an Olympic swimming pool. It’s smaller than a grain of salt.
“I don’t know how it got into my system, maybe shaking hands, maybe sharing a drink with somebody.”
Khan added, “The results say it could not have changed my performance, and with the amount that was in my blood, it could not have made me any stronger or better. It was such a tiny amount which somehow got into the system.”
Amir, however, has expressed concerns regarding his legacy, which has inspired many Asians to get into the sport alongside his notable charity work through his foundation. Khan has expressed his desire to reach out to Kell Brook personally to clear matters up alongside his experience of this debacle to act as a lesson to up-and-coming fighters.
“I don’t want to be remembered for something like this. That’ll hurt me a lot,” Khan said. “If people remember me for just this incident that’s happened, then I think it’ll always upset me because I know it was never done on purpose.
“Hopefully, people believe me and maybe take more precautions, especially the young and upcoming fighters can learn from me how mistakes can happen.”
“I’m very sorry, and I have to take some sort of responsibility,” added Khan, who said he will personally reach out to Brook and “clear” matters up.