BURY ABC-trained boxer Muhammad Ali attracted more than his fair share of publicity at last year's Olympic Games in Rio, largely on account of his famous namesake.

It got to the point where Team GB's media team had to step in to calm down the clamour.

Predictably, the interest was quickly quelled when the 20-year-old lost his opening contest, with judges awarding every round to his Venezuelan opponent Yoel Finol.

The result was a harsh one, with seemingly nothing between the two fighters, while Finol went unpunished for continually holding Ali, a fact that simply added to the sense of frustration.

Keighley-born Ali admits it took him a long while to get over the bitter experience.

But it has, at least, left him with a burning ambition to make a name for himself, and that means remaining in the amateur game longer than perhaps he intended.

"Amir Khan has obviously been a big role model for me over the years," he explained.

"I saw what happened to him after the Olympics. Winning that silver medal in 2004 basically set him up for life.

"When I flew out to Rio I wanted to follow in his footsteps, try to win a medal and then maybe turn pro.

"That obviously didn't happen and I have had to reassess what I wanted to do.

"I know winning titles in the amateur game can open up doors for me once I finally turn pro, so that is what I aim to do."

It is unlikely Ali will put off his move into pro boxing long enough to have a crack at the next Olympics in Tokyo in 2020, and he would not commit to waiting for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

But the young flyweight is committed to fighting another campaign in the World Series of Boxing with the England team, starting in February, and then has his heart set on winning gold at this year's World Championships in Germany in September.

He has been hard at work, both with Team GB at their Sheffield base, and also back at Seedfield Community Centre with experienced trainer Mick Jelley, who also guided the fledgling career of Amir Khan.

"It has been great to get back into the gym with Mick," he said.

"In many ways, if I had been able to stay in Bury and train with Mick until a few days before my first Olympic fight I think things would have been different.

"I went out there with the team a month before my first fight – I had never been away from home that long – and it got to me.

"I felt lethargic, not myself at all. I allowed myself to get tense and let the pressure build.

"You have to learn from your experiences and hopefully that's what I will do this year.

"We were beaten in the final of the World Series of Boxing last year, so hopefully we can go one better, then all my focus will be on the World Championships.

"I was unlucky last time in Qatar. I was cut after a clash of heads in the quarter-finals and had to withdraw.

"I felt in control of that fight and my opponent went on to win gold.

"So, if I can stay fit, that could be me this year."