From the bbc website....
Khan asks for ABA backing
Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan has asked the Amateur Boxing Association to help him in his bid to win a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Khan has decided to stay amateur and has brought in a team of sports lawyers and managers to help him.
Spokesman Asif Vali said: "Our intention is to make sure Amir can stay in the amateur game with enough funding to lead a comfortable life.
"Everybody wants to be associated with Amir. The interest's been phenomenal."
He continued: "We will continue to have talks with the family in the coming weeks."
Khan said: "I've got a good family supporting me. and I will get a clip around my ear if I get too big-headed.
"I was so close to my goal but I was boxing the best boxer in the world over the past six years so I'm not down that I didn't achieve the gold medal this time.
"This will keep me training harder. If I'd been a gold medallist maybe I'd have eased off.
"Now I've got something to look forward to when I go to the next Olympics."
Khan said he hopes his achievements will inspire others in the Bolton area to follow him.
"They'll see that a 17-year-old did it and think that maybe they can do it too."
He also revealed that gold medallist Mario Kindelan told him he should stay amateur.
"He told me not to turn pro because I would dominate at 60kgs and I will be world champion and Olympic gold medallist."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/3625848.stm
Personally I think this is the right decision. the boyys only 17. another few yers in the amateurs will do him no harm at all. he'll probably getharder fights at top level amateur boxing than he would get in his first couple fo years as a pro anyhow. winning the silver seems to have provided him with the hunger and the impetus to carry on and try and go one better at the next games in four years.
by the sounds of things he's set to make a good income over the next few months regardless of his boxing. apparently he's on around 1200 pounds a month. very good money for a 17 year old. coup[led with the money he's going to make in the short term follwing his olympic adventure then it looks like he should be doing very well finanacially out of the 'amateur' game.
I think he's got to cash in on his popularity as much as he can right now if hes not going pro. the press are notoriously fickle with this kind of stuff and he's probably only got a 6 months or so to reap the dividends big style.
be interesting to see what the coverage is like a year or two down the line when hes taking part in tourneys not nearly as high profile as the olympics.