RIVAL football fans united to salute Bolton's Olympic boxing hero Amir Khan when he made a whirlwind visit to the Reebok Stadium on Saturday.

The 28,000 crowd gave the 17-year-old silver medallist an "awesome" reception after he flew in from Spain for a lap of honour during the half-time interval of Wanderers' derby game against Manchester United.

And how the fans loved it as the teenager continually stopped to chat and sign autographs around the packed ground.

"It was a great moment," he said. "The crowd gave me a fantastic reception, Wanderers and United fans alike. It just makes me feel proud to be part of this great town. The atmosphere was awesome."

Wearing his silver medal and a Wanderers' shirt presented to him by the club and emblazoned with his name and the number one on the back, Amir went out with the two teams at the start of the match and enjoyed brief chats with captains Jay-Jay Okocha and Roy Keane.

"The reception was just magnificent. I was more nervous running out in front of 28,000 fans than I was of climbing into the ring for the Olympic final," he said.

Wanderers fan Amir spent some time before the game with Whites manager Sam Allardyce, and was introduced to the Wanderers players and then watched the dramatic 2-2 draw with his family from the directors' box.

"It was good to be invited into the Bolton dressing room and into Sam Allardyce's office for a chat, and it was good of the club to give me the opportunity to thank the fans who have supported me over the past month."

Immediately after the game, Amir flew back to Spain, where he is taking part in the BBC TV programme Superstars.

And the only regret was that his beloved Wanderers should be denied victory over their greatest rivals as United snatched an injury-time equaliser.

"That was a shame, but really today has been just great," he said.