Richie Woodhall column

It's not just British professional boxing that is on a high at the moment, the amateur ranks are bubbling over with talent.

England's team have already provided four qualifiers for next year's Olympic Games after a stunning performance at the world amateur championships in Chicago last month.

Frankie Gavin won England's first ever gold medal and he will be joined in China by Tony Jefferies, Bradley Saunders and Joe Murray, with the prospect of more to follow.

I think we will end up with six or seven boxers at the Games which would be our highest number since 1988.

The English team takes on the USA on Friday shorn of those Olympic qualifiers, but the kids who are stepping up have been given a huge opportunity to impress.

There is such strength in depth in amateur boxing at the moment that the Americans will be in for a bit of a shock.

They normally send a load of flashy kids over, but the English boys will be a match for them.

The success English boxing is having at the moment certainly isn't a freak occurence.

It is a combination of funding and coaching and the men behind it all are Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) chief executive Paul King and director Keith Walters.

They are both boxing men through and through and King has had the vision for years of getting England where they wanted to be.

It has been a long hard road, but it has started to come together because they have got the funding right and the coaching system in place.

The lads in the squad now are coached on a daily basis and they are basically like full-time amateurs.

This is how the Cubans and the Russians work and that's why they have always won medals at Olympic Games.

Now we have our first world amateur champion plus two bronze medals and that is proof we are improving.

All credit must go to King as he has engineered this system and got it into place.

Mind you, if Amir Khan hadn't reached the Olympic final in 2004, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be talking about amateur boxing right now because England simply wouldn't have got the backing.

Khan winning silver in Athens was like a breath of fresh air for the sport in every sense.

He attracted the funding that today's boxers are taking advantage of and a lot of thanks must go to him for winning that medal.

Hopefully what English amateur boxing can offer now is helping deter young amateurs to turn professional too early.

All young boxers look at the Joe Calzaghes and the Ricky Hattons and want to be in their shoes.

But they have to turn pro at the right time. We must educate them and get everything right so they can fulfil their potential at amateur level by winning Olympic and world medals.

My advice has always been, 'don't just turn pro at the first opportunity, go round the world boxing for your country and gain experience'.

The Russians box differently to Cubans, who box differently to African nations, so it's vital to expose yourself to different styles from different nations.

To be a top-class international fighter there is no way you can sustain a hard trade during the day.

The Cuban boxers don't work and the Russians don't work - they are full-time amateurs.

Now English boxers are in a similar position thanks to UK Sport, the lottery and all the other funding bodies that have pumped money into the sport.

They can now concentrate on their training.

They can go to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield and work with the best coaches in the country, developing different styles and working on new techniques.

It's very different to my day.

When I was an amateur I had to go to work. Fortunately I had a very understanding employer.

Some of the boxers in the same 1988 Olympic team as me weren't as lucky.

Henry Akinwande lost his dole money whilst we were in Seoul because the DSS said he was unavailable for work!

He was penalised for representing his country and it was no surprise when he lost in the first round.

Things are fortunately very different today for the team entering the ring on Friday.

Keep a close eye on two kids who are, in my opinion, future Olympians and potential medallists.

Michael Maguire and James Degale are the two most naturally talented fighters in the squad and could go all the way.

Middleweight Degale is a natural switch hitter and bantamweight Maguire will not give the Americans an easy night.

England v USA

Friday 30 November
Live on BBCi and BBC Sport website from 1930-2300

Saturday 1 December
Highlights on BBC One and BBC Sport website, 1300-1415

Richie Woodhall was talking to Paul Birch

Source: BBC Sport