British boxer Amir Khan (left) fights against Kell Brook in a Welterweight Contest fight, at the AO Arena, Manchester, England, on Feb. 19, 2022. File/AP

Former light-welterweight world champion Amir Khan has been handed a two-year ban from all sport after testing positive for a prohibited substance, UK Anti-Doping said on Tuesday.

Khan, 36, returned a positive result for the anabolic agent ostarine following his loss to Kell Brook in Manchester in February 2022.

Khan, who announced his retirement in May last year, accepted a violation of anti-doping rules but said he had not intentionally ingested the substance, an argument accepted by an independent panel following a hearing in January.

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The ban is deemed to have commenced on 6 April 2022, when his provisional suspension was imposed, and will expire on 5 April 2024.

Khan, who announced his retirement three months after the fight, accepted a violation of anti-doping rules but said he had not intentionally ingested the substance. That was accepted by an independent panel following a hearing in January.

British boxer Amir Khan (right) reacts after losing the Welterweight Contest fight against Kell Brook. File/AP

His ban will expire on April 5, 2024.

One of the best British boxers of his era, Khan retired with a record of 34-6, though the independent panel has disqualified his result from the fight against Brook.

It's a sad final entry to a career that started with a gold medal at the 2003 Junior Olympics and a silver at the Athens Olympics in 2004, aged just 17.

Khan won the WBA light-welterweight title with victory over Andreas Kotelnik in Manchester in July 2009, before unifying the WBA and IBF titles with a win over Zab Judah in 2011. He lost his next fight, to Lamont Peterson, who subsequently tested positive for synthetic testosterone.

Khan later lost world title fights again Danny Garcia, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

In recent years, Khan has appeared on reality TV shows and is scheduled to be a participant on "I’m A Celebrity... South Africa” this month.