Re: Amir Khan banned from sport for two years
BBBofC chief Smith joined White and Jordan on talkSPORT on Wednesday to explain the situation from the board’s perspective.
Asked to clarify if the BBBofC found out at the same time as Khan, Smith confirmed: “Yes, yeah.
“Obviously everything to do with UKAD is private and confidential, which is how it should be.
“From then it’s up to Mr Khan or any athlete to protest their innocence or give any explanation.
“Then obviously it takes a lot of time with regards to any hearings taking place, which obviously did take place and the board had nothing to do with – that’s down to UKAD and an independent panel.”
When pushed to answer why the BBBofC chose to sit on this information without releasing it, Smith said: “Because UKAD deal with all our anti-doping processes, we don’t have any dealings with regard to any hearing etc, it’s down to UKAD.
“I’m frustrated with regards to how long it takes, but any athlete’s entitled to due process and that’s what they’ve done.
“When you say ‘sit on it’, we didn’t sit on it. UKAD deal with all our disciplinary matters with regards to anti-doping.
“They have a process in place for any other sport in the country, we have to abide by that. We’ve signed up to them, as have every other sport in the country.
“I’m as frustrated as anybody else, but that’s what we’ve signed up to. They have a process and that’s how the process works.
“I think it’s too slow, but that’s up to them. That’s how they deal with it and there’s not much I can do about it at the present time.”
Regarding whether UKAD’s process is fit for purpose, Smith insisted: “I think the process is fit for purpose, but it does take too long.
“I think the issue we’ve got here is obviously UKAD have sole authority with regards to it.
“I knew there was a problem, however any athlete’s entitled to explain why there’s a problem, which I understand he has.
“We were not part of that process, we listen to what UKAD say and we abide by what they do. They act on our behalf.
“Whether I’m happy with it? Possibly not. And whether I’ve gotta do something about it? Possibly yes.”
Asked what changes he may push for, Smith replied: “Let’s not speculate just yet. I’ve hopefully got a meeting with them soon with regards to how processes are done.
“Nobody’s more frustrated than I am.”
Smith was then questioned as to whether Khan’s legacy in boxing has been tarnished by this situation and said: “I think it possibly has been, but the only thing I would say, and I’m not making excuses for Amir, he has been tested possibly more than any other boxer in Britain.
“Because he turned pro very early, he was tested as an Olympian, 17-year-old, he fought for championships fairly quickly in his pro career.
“We’re testing boxers every single week. And also out of competition.
“The amount we get is pretty low, but obviously when we do get them it’s a major issue for the sport.”
Finally, Smith was asked if the combination of this new situation with Khan alongside Conor Benn’s ongoing debacle has left boxing in the gutter.
The BBBofC chief defiantly replied: “It’s not in the gutter.
“I’m not being funny, look at all the fights taking place.
“We’re going through a bit of a difficult time and I’m the first to acknowledge that.
“It’s not due to the board, it’s due to other people’s behaviour, which is very, very disappointing for the sport as a whole.
“There’s nobody more frustrated than I am and I can tell you that I’m gonna wake up in the morning thinking, ‘What’s gonna go wrong now?’
“We’re a great sport, but we shoot ourselves in the foot quite a lot, which is very disappointing.”
https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...ir-khan-drugs/
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