Tony Thompson failed drug test after David Price rematch

It has emerged that heavyweight Tony Thompson failed a drugs test after he defeated Britain's David Price in their rematch.

Thompson, who stopped Price in both February and July 2013, tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide – which is classified as a diuretic and masking agent.

The 43-year-old Thompson has fought four times since. He was banned by the British Boxing Board of Control for 18 months but that was only enforceable in the UK. The ban expired in May 2015. 

UK Anti-Doping said in a statement that the delay in Thompson’s failed drugs test being revealed was a consequence of the American’s response to the charge. "The athlete instigated a lengthy legal process, including filing an appeal which he failed to progress and which was ultimately dismissed," the statement read.

Thompson said: "I did fail a drugs test but everybody knows what I failed it for – high blood pressure medicine.

"How could it be wrongdoing? I’m taking it for what the doctor prescribed it for."