MUHAMMAD Ali is quieter than his legendary namesake, happy to let his experienced trainer Mick Jelley do the majority of the talking for him, writes ANDY DONLEY.

Speaking at his ABC Boxing Gym in Bury, Jelley spoke effusively about his newest phenomenon, in the wake of his silver medal at the European Championships in July.

Jelley refused to be drawn on how Ali compares to previous charges such as world-class Bolton fighter Amir Khan or Bury-born world champion Scott Quigg.

However he did say that he has the right ingredients to make a name for himself on the professional circuit – as long as he makes the switch at the right time.

“I tell a lot of lads not to turn pro,” said Jelley.

“I don’t like professional boxing – the only lad I’ve ever advised to go pro is Amir, because he won the lottery ticket and he had to cash it.

“If you can go to the Olympic games and win something, then you can sign on that dotted line and you know you’re made.”

When Ali does speak, it is with maturity and an air of assurance over his goals.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given his mentor’s words, those Rio Olympics are at the forefront of the 19-year-old’s thoughts, despite a cluttered schedule beforehand.

Next up are the ABA World Championships in Doha, but the Yorkshire-born flyweight knows that his date with destiny will be in Brazil, not Qatar.

“Just to qualify [for the Olympics] is the main aim, but once I’ve qualified I’ll obviously be thinking about medalling,” he said.

“But it’s a long way away yet and I’ve just got to take it one step at a time.

“If I do well after [the Olympics] then hopefully I’ll turn pro but we’ll have to see.”

That is not to say that Ali is not taking October’s Worlds seriously – not least because a place in the final would guarantee qualification for Rio.

Before then, the teenager highlighted areas of his game that he will be looking to work on, especially his boxing off the back foot.

In Jelley, Ali has the right man in his corner, and the stalwart of the Manchester amateur boxing scene insisted that whilst he throws a mean punch, Ali ‘needs to work on not getting hit’.

All of this comes on the back of Ali’s stunning performance at the European Championship, in which his defeat in the final came in just his seventh senior fight.

However, what should have been a heartening performance left both men with a sour taste, after the judges awarded the final to Bulgarian fighter Daniel Asenov in the final, despite Ali’s alleged dominance. The competition was held in Sofia.

“Before the tournament I would have been buzzing with a silver but now it’s over I just know it could have been a gold,” said Ali.

“But I’ll just train even harder now and get ready for the Worlds.”

His medal at the Euros has led to the Worlds, a repeat at the Worlds will take him to the Olympics, and a successful Olympics could signal the beginning of a professional career.

Muhammad Ali’s path to the professional ranks has been well signposted. All he has to do now is pick up his lottery ticket along the way.