Boxing: McMillan in the clear

COLIN McMILLAN, Britain's former world featherweight champion, was given a clean bill of health yesterday after testing negative for the Aids virus.

The 27-year-old Barking fighter decided to take the test in the wake of speculation about his bloody World Boxing Organisation title fight last September with the Colombian, Ruben Palacio, who was diagnosed as HIV positive last week. McMillan's test was administered by Dr Adrian Whiteson, the chief medical officer of the British Boxing Board of Control.

'At first, I said I wasn't going to bother to take a test because I was told I had no reason to worry because Palacio had tested negative before our fight,' McMillan said.

'But after reading some sensationalist reports, people kept telling me me I ought to be worried and I started to get anxious again. I knew there would be some people saying there is no smoke without fire, and this sort of stigma tends to hang about.'

McMillan plans a non-title warm-up in June, and hopes to earn the chance to regain his title from the new champion, Steve Robinson. He defeated John Davison - who had been due to challenge Palacio - last Saturday.