It wouldn’t have happened if teenager Amir Khan hadn’t won a silver medal in the Athens Olympics, or if the ABA boxer hadn’t the potential to be one of Britain’s best hopes for a gold in the next Olympics in Beijing, when he’ll still be only 21.
However, as Thompson is quick to point out, boxing promoter Warren is no mug.
Khan now has a following which is so strong, he could double the size of a crowd for a pro fight.
So when Khan appears on a show topped by Joe Calzaghe in March, in Manchester in 2005, many, if not the majority of the ticket-paying audience, will be there to hail one of the brightest prospects England has produced since the 1960s.
‘Khan has already proved his worth to British boxing,’ said Thompson.
‘In terms of potential, he’s got everything.
Next to Kelly Holmes he was the brightest British star in Athens, and to Warren, and the others, he’s a goldmine waiting to be tapped.
‘His ability forced the ABA to send him to Athens.
He was only 17, when he should have been 18.
However, winning the World Junior Championship made all the difference.
‘It’s obvious that he’ll finish up as a pro because the money’s there.
I just hope that he isn’t destroyed by the five computer judges at an amateur bout – fingers on the button – who are helping to kill the amateur sport.
They’ve already thrown that out in America.
The public didn’t like it, or even understand it.
‘But Warren is a very clever man, and he knows that Khan will be a big draw.
And good amateur boxers will help to fill out smaller bills.’ He added that professional boxing will never return to Jersey because there is no specialist neurological unit here, and as pre-match brain scans cost up to £600 per boxer, the costs of staging such a contest are prohibitive.
However, Khan’s ability, and progress at such a young age, fill Thompson with enthusiasm for the amateur sport he loves.
‘The rules are all changing because of Khan.
And he seems a nice lad, which does make a difference,’ he said.
So while Warren nurtures the potential (young) goose that lays the golden egg, he has invested in him to such an extent that, for the next three years and leading up to the next Olympics, a ‘six figure sum’ will be paid to the ABA to include their amateur boxers on professional bills.
And although boxing is, in the long run, very much a commercial enterprise, Warren has assured the ABA that: ‘This cash injection, and increased exposure, will help prevent stars like Khan from turning professional too quickly.’ It is a sentiment Dave Thompson is quick to appreciate.
