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Hands off Amir: British boxing chiefs
British boxing chiefs are facing one of their toughest ever bouts as they try to keep teenage sensation Amir Khan out of the big-money clutches of the professional ranks for the next four years.
British boxing chiefs are facing one of their toughest ever bouts as they try to keep teenage sensation Amir Khan out of the big-money clutches of the professional ranks for the next four years.
The 17-year-old has been the revelation of the Olympic Games boxing tournament as the lightweight has stormed his way into the semifinals.
His last opponent lasted just 97 seconds and such has been his impact in Athens that his trainer Terry Edwards has had to resort to desperate means to keep his star under wraps.
And that's the way he wants to keep it as he tries to persuade Khan, who has fought just 16 times as a senior, to maintain his amateur status so that he can box in the next Olympics in Beijing in 2008.
"I won't let him take any phone calls except from his family and I vet every piece of reporting so that Amir sees what he needs to see. I won't allow any direct calls from professional promoters," said Edwards on Thursday.
"We expect the promoters to come in after the Olympics but we, in amateur boxing set-up, need to keep him amateur for another four years.
"We can't match the professional offers but we have to put it all into perspective. Amir is only 17. He has got another Olympic Games in him. In four years' time, he'll be more mature and at his peak. He's awesome at the moment and I can't imagine what he will be like when he's 19.
"He's definitely up there with the best British fighters in recent years."
Khan, the only British fighter who made it through to the Games, was due to fight Kazakhstan's Serik Yeleuov on Friday for a place in Sunday's gold medal match where he could face Cuban world champion Mario Kindelan.
