BURY ABC boxer Muhammad Ali secured a silver medal in the European Championships in Bulgaria, losing in the final to homegrown top seed Daniel Asenov.

Ali, who is trained by Mick Jelley, showed considerable promise in securing the medal, invoking the memory of Amir Khan, who also came under the tutelage of the club's legendary coach early in his career.

The 19-year-old flyweight may have deserved more than silver – he looked incredulous upon hearing a unanimous decision in favour of his opponent, which Jelley admitted was a shock to him.

But the Bury ABC trainer was keen to laud the young Yorkshireman’s performance, and played down the importance of winning gold in Sofia.

He said: “I’m really very proud of him.

“He boxed really well and he could have won as well.”

Ali’s performance did secure him a place at the World Boxing Championships, which will be held in Doha later this year, with medallists at that tournament securing qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Ali beat Ruscan Alexandr, Koryun Soghomonyan and Jose de la Neive Linares – all on unanimous decisions – to reach the final, but fell at the final hurdle, just as Khan did in the 2004 Olympics.

Both Ali and Jelley will hope they can continue to emulate Khan, and secure Olympic glory in Brazil next year.