There's only one Amer Khan

The two have met briefly, during a recent boxing show in Amer's home town of Sheffield. The older Khan revealed: "I noticed the entourage and sensed the fuss going on around him. And I realised his problems were only about to begin."

Amer was reminiscing at the St Thomas Boys Club gym in the Wincobank district of Sheffield run by veteran trainer Brendan Ingle. Naseem Hamed learned the fight trade here before his bitter split from Ingle, and one of Amer's fondest memories is of being a wide-eyed teenager having a lift home in the world champion's Aston Martin.

Yes, says Ingle, he'd love to train Amir for the professional game. But this disciplinarian knows it will never happen. "I'd want him living here in Sheffield on his own," he said. "And when he came to the gym his so-called friends would have to stay outside."

The younger Khan has yet to be formally confirmed as a professional fighter but already he's surrounded by vested interests who are never going to let him out of their sight.

They will be out in force, keeping an eye on their asset, at Bolton Arena on 16 April when Khan probably fights for the last time as an amateur in a fund-raiser for the Bury ABC which supported him through his formative years.

Amer compared his own situation with that of his near-namesake and concluded he probably has the better deal, at least for the time being.

Amir's ever-present father, Shah, has done his son no favours by engaging in a series of public slanging matches with the Amateur Boxing Association. By contrast Amer's father, retired crane operator Taj, has never even seen his son fight.

Amir often appears swamped by family, friends, managers, trainers and assorted hangers-on. But Amer has relied on a tight-knit team - comprising Brendan, his two sons Dominic and John, and promoter Dennis Hobson - to help him amass a record of nine wins from nine paid fights and rise to 15th position in the British light-heavyweight rankings.

Amir will never want for money, with major sponsors such as adidas already vying for a slice of the action. Amer has had to rely on more personal support, like that offered by neighbour Shaun Fogg who paid for his mandatory brain scan, and the two local restaurants, El Paso and Zeenat, which respectively prepare his pre-fight halal chicken meals and host celebratory post-fight dinners.

"That's the crazy thing about being an Average Joe boxer," said Amer. "You have to pay for nearly everything because there's no money in the game until you make it big time. And when you make it big time you don't have to pay for anything because everyone wants to pay for you! But I'm happy with the way things are at the moment.

"I've got a part-time job driving an ambulance picking up patients for hospital appointments. Many of my passengers are older folk, in their seventies and eighties, and the women all have my picture - the right one - in their bags which they

take out to show me. I get a lot of satisfaction from that.

"And Brendan is a brilliant mentor for me, just like he's been for so many others here. We'll often go to the steam room and the Jacuzzi at the Marriott Hotel where we'll talk about everything."

Amer recently travelled on his own to Rome where he sparred with European cruiserweight champion Vincenzo Cantatore, and that experience will stand him in good stead when he challenges for the Central Area lightheavyweight title later this year.

He said: "I strongly believe you need an element of luck, being in the right place at the right time. It never happened for me in the amateurs but it happened for Amir at the Olympics and good for him for that. He's a great talent, he's done fantastic.

"But I'm in it to win it, too. I feel I can be a good professional and a good champion. I'm consistent and focused, I work hard and I have the will to win."

What chance the two Khans appearing on the same bill? Amer offers the kind of smile that suggests it will only happen if he is the headline attraction.

He said: "One guy even asked when I was going to fight the other Amir Khan. What a daft thing. Just look at the size of me and look at the size of him." Not easy to confuse them, is it?