A STAR is born, but what next for Bolton's boy wonder? writes David Magilton

Speculation abounds as to how long Amir Khan can turn his back on the long line of promoters beating a path to his door and remain in the amateur ranks.

But nothing will be rushed. Under the guiding hand of his father, Shajaad, the teenage tormentor will only make up his mind as to what lies ahead after a well-earned rest and long after the dust has settled.

After all, just to underline the fact that he is just 17-years-old, his immediate plans after the Olympic Games are "to pass my driving test and hand in my assignments at college."

The teenager had to be satisfied with an Olympic lightweight silver medal after losing out to Cuba's three times world champion and now twice gold medallist, Mario Kindelan, but not before he had rocketed from oblivion to become the talk of the Athens Games.

Team GB had just one qualifier in the boxing, but even they failed to realise what an impact the Heaton lad with the lightning hands and dancing feet would create. He might have come away with a silver medal but he has golden gloves.

Millions turned on the TV on Sunday lunchtime to see if he could spring another surprise and spoil the unbeaten Kindelan's retirement party.

Sadly, it was not to be, as the Cuban turned on the style and produced a masterful display to win by eight points.

Amir has no immediate plans to join the pro ranks as, with cheers of an admiring crowd still ringing in his ears, he said he wanted another shot at winning Olympic gold.

"I want to stay amateur until I'm 21," he said.

"I want to be more mature and stronger for the next Olympics and hopefully I'll win gold. And then I've got an idea to turn professional and I'll be a lot stronger."

His Cuban opponent believes Amir can take over his mantle saying: "He has a brilliant future ahead of him. He is a tremendous fighter and if he does not turn professional, I think he will reign over this weight category for years to come."

Sunday was only his 14th senior level fight and coach Terry Edwards emphasised Amir's achievements when he said: "He's done exceptionally well. It's absolutely brilliant. I'm so proud of him.

"It's important for Amir to stay amateur until the next Olympics as he obviously needs more experience and to grow into that maturity."

The ultimate decision could lie with the ABA and the lottery funding and sponsorship deals they can come up with. There is no way they can compete with the professional offers, but if they want Amir to stay amateur for a while longer they will have to come up with at least a tempting offer.

Khan senior's phone has been red-hot with agents and promoters wanting to jump on his son's bandwagon and promoter Frank Warren summed up the family's future dilemma when he said: "Certainly he can earn a lot of money. By the age of 21 he can have more than a million pounds in the bank."

Tempting talk. But getting the timing right is what matters.

The money will be there at whatever age Amir decides to step up to the professional ranks, but there are also physical risks if he joins the big boys too soon.

That fact was reiterated by former world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, just minutes after the final bell, when he warned Amir of turning professional too soon.

He said: "You need to have the maturity to deal with guys who are rough and tough and do this for a living. There are some very good boxers in Amir's weight division.

"Turning professional at 21, when you have that added maturity, is a good age."

With advice like that from someone who knows the fight game inside out, maybe Amir's immediate goal should be to forget boxing for a while and get that driving test passed.