ONE of Britain's greatest ever amateur fighters has urged Amir Khan to emulate his own achievements and become our first double Olympic boxing medallist in almost half a century.

Scottish lightweight Dick McTaggart is famous for resisting the lure of the professional game and accumulating an almost unsurpassable pile of amateur titles.

But McTaggart, who grabbed gold in Melbourne in 1956 and bronze four years later in Rome, believes Khan is good enough to go one better in Beijing in four years' time.

The Bolton 17-year-old rocketed to fame for his performances in Athens which earned him an unlikely silver medal.

Investment

And he is already being courted by the professional promoters who view Khan as a lucrative investment.

But McTaggart told the Press Association: 'Amir is a bit young to need to turn professional at the moment.

'He's our best amateur and he's done fantastically to get the silver medal at 17.

'He has got the skills, the punch and the charm. He has a great future and with lottery funding he ought to be able to go on and prove himself by winning gold in China.'

Often too tempted by the pay cheques dangling in front of them, no Briton has since come close to emulating McTaggart's haul of two Olympic medals.

The Dundee fighter, who also won the Val Barker trophy for most stylish boxer in 1956, went on to reach the quarter-finals in his third Games in Tokyo in 1964.

Having won no fewer than five Amateur Boxing Association titles between 1956 and 1965, McTaggart retired with an extraordinary record of 610 wins from 634 amateur contests.

As with Khan, there were plenty of attempts to lure him into the paid ranks but McTaggart's motive to stay amateur was a simple one.

McTaggart, 70, said: 'As an amateur you are only fighting for three or four rounds and it is harder as a pro.

Sacrifice

'There's no smoking, no drinking and no women. Boxers like Ken Buchanan sacrificed their lives to turn professional.

'I wanted a normal life which I could still enjoy. You can't enjoy life and be any good as a professional at the same time - there are too many sacrifices involved.'

Khan has already expressed his readiness to spurn the offers flooding his way and turn out in the vest again in Beijing.

And McTaggart believes when he does finally succumb Khan will possess much more experience and leave a lasting legacy for the amateur ranks.

'The amateurs have suffered with the demise of the British ABAs and Khan can make people notice again,' added McTaggart.

'He's a very exciting boy and when he's got that bit more experience he can be successful as a professional too.'

Tweet