AMIR'S path to the Olympics began at the age of eight, when his father Shajaad took the hyperactive child to the boxing gym at Halliwell as a way to channel his energies.

By the age of 11 he had joined Bolton Lads' Club and faced his first competition. His versatility as a fighter impressed the coaches, and it was not long before Amir, who had moved to Bury Boxing Club, started collecting the first of more than 70 trophies scooped during his meteoric rise. In the 18 months before stepping up to senior level, Amir won the National Schoolboy and National Association of Boys Clubs' titles, the British Junior ABA Championship, a "mini-Olympics" competition for under-16s in the USA, the European Cadet Championships in Lithuania and the European Student Championships in Rome. He also picked up the Best Cadet Award for the most impressive young amateur at the Annual British Boxing Awards last October.