Amir Khan: Kell Brook ‘shouldn’t be that upset by my failed drug test’

Brook stopped Khan in February 2022, before the latter tested positive for a banned substance – a development that was only revealed this week

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Thursday 06 April 2023 18:36 BST
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‘I’ve never cheated’: Amir Khan denies wrongdoing following ban for failed drug test

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Amir Khan has claimed that Kell Brook ‘should not be that upset’ by the former’s failed drug test.

Khan received a two-year ban this week, after it was revealed that the former world champion tested positive for the banned substance ostarine after his TKO loss to Brook in February 2022.

The ban, backdated to April 2022, expires in 12 months. However, both Khan and Brook – also a former world champion – retired after the Manchester bout.

Khan, 36, was cleared of ‘intentional’ doping and has denied cheating, but Brook, also 36, dismissed the suggestion and added: “I could be in a wheelchair now, with him seriously destroying my life or killing me, making me crippled forever.”

Khan has now responded, telling Talksport on Thursday (6 April): “I think I should give Kell a call and just say, ‘Look, there’s nothing there’. The amount that was in my system, there was no benefit; it would not have made me any stronger or any better.

“I am not surprised that he is upset over what happened, [but maybe it is hypocritical] because he is still happy to fight against Conor Benn.”

Khan was referencing Brook’s potential comeback against Benn, who failed two drug tests in 2022.

“He won the fight, so he shouldn’t really be that upset,” Khan continued. “At the end of the day, it is a business. He is going to try put me down, you are just beating a man when he is down.

“I was the one that got caught, I was the one that tested positive. But look: It is what it is, I am taking it on the chin. I could hide away, but I have come here to prove my innocence.”

Khan and Brook’s long-awaited fight settled a fierce rivalry between the Britons.

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