LONDON, Sept 23: Former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis believes Britain's Olympic silver-medallist Amir Khan should go for gold in Beijing rather than turn professional.
After his stunning displays in Athens, the 17-year-old lightweight said he planned to compete at the 2008 Olympics before leaving the amateur ranks. However with boxing promoters falling over themselves for his signature, Amir is reported to be in talks about fast-tracking his professional career.
According to a BBC report his manager Asif Vali has lined up meetings with several promoters, including Frank Warren. Lewis, who won the super-heavyweight gold medal for Canada in Seoul in 1988, said he should resist the temptation.
"I would say he should stay an amateur because there's still so much to learn and so much to gain," Lewis told BBC radio. "Lose one fight (as a professional) and that's it.
"I think that (winning gold) helped me. That's the ticket to the pros. If you have certain goals and if you have solid family support, you know the right decision to make."
Britain's Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) are reported to have offered Amir a record US$504,100 over the next four years to compete in Beijing, while he would be free to earn additional income from endorsements. However Vali, head of Elite Sports Management who were set up to handle Amir's rise to fame, accused the ABA of being slow to come up with their offer. "We have been waiting for the ABA to come back with offers and it's taken such a long time," Vali told BBC radio. "We have to think about Amir Khan's long-term security.
"If the ABA have not forwarded us a concrete offer by the end of the week we will have no choice but to begin speaking to everybody else out there." Amir, the son of a Bolton scrap metal dealer, gained rave reviews in Athens where he was beaten in the final on points by Cuba's defending champion Mario Kindelan.
Warren, who has invited Amir to watch Ricky Hatton fight in Manchester next week, said Thursday's Guardian he would relish working with Amir if he turned down the ABA's offer.
"I would be delighted to sit down with Amir and see what we can do," he said. "Perhaps his management are just trying to put some pressure on the ABA but I hope he is serious about turning pro, because he is the best young prospect I have seen for some time." -Reuters
