Muhammad Ali: British boxer given ban for failed drug test

British Olympic flyweight boxer Muhammad Ali has been banned for two years over a failed drug test, the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) said on Tuesday.

In April last year, the 21-year-old tested positive for Trenbolone, an anabolic steroid known to increase muscle growth, during the World Series of Boxing in Morocco.

Contaminated meat

Ali was provisionally suspended when the test result was revealed in October.

The boxer argued that he ingested the substance through contaminated meat, and that, as he is a flyweight, an aid for muscle growth would not have helped him.

"All they caught me with was two nanograms. I can't explain it," Ali told BBC Sport.

"I was trying to make 52kg and I wouldn't want to put muscle on. I was literally trying to cut weight. It doesn't make sense."

Ali, who competed as a flyweight at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, is the first member of the GB Amateur Boxing squad to fail a drug test for a banned substance.

No intention to cheat

According to reports by the BBC, AIBA said that it acknowledged Ali had not taken the substance with the intention to cheat, and that the ban was imposed after reaching a "settlement agreement" on the case, without giving details.

A spokesperson for GB boxing said: "We have noted the conclusion of Aiba's findings on this issue and that it is of the opinion that the athlete did not take the prohibited substances with the intention to cheat.

"GB Boxing is committed to clean sport and we work with UK Anti-Doping and our international federation to provide extensive education and support to our boxers on anti-doping rules, the anti-doping obligations upon them as athletes and the importance of adhering to the principles of clean sport."

Ali will be eligible to compete again in May 2019.

With the qualification process for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics set to begin next year, it is unlikely that he stands a chance of qualifying.