British amateur super-heavyweight sensation Anthony Joshua can be the next Lennox Lewis, reckons his coach Sean Murphy. The 6' 6'' 21 year old won Silver at the recent World Amateur Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, losing by just one point to local hero Magomedrasul Medzhidov. 

"I won the silver but lost the gold," Joshua told BBC Sport after the final. "It was painful at first to know I was so close, just a point away. To bring back gold to the nation would have made my heart full of joy, but half an hour later I was back with the team and everybody was rejoicing. I'm happy I achieved something for the country and myself that we didn't really expect. I was ranked number 46 in the world before I went to the Worlds but I knew I wanted to be in a better-ranked position. It's amazing to be ranked number two in the world now. It's an amazing accomplishment.''

Joshua defeated world no.1 - Olympic and world champion Roberto Cammerelle of Italy in the quarterfinals. His amazing achievement in only his second international competition guarantees the young giant his spot on the GB Olympic squad for London 2012.

"As long as he lives right and doesn't get carried away with what everyone's saying, he'll go to the top - he'll be the next Lennox Lewis," Murphy told the BBC. "I see him going as far as Lennox Lewis."

West Ham born Lewis emigrated to Canada with his family when he was twelve. He boxed for Canada in the 1988 Olympic is Seoul where he won gold in the super heavyweight class, TKO'ing Riddick Bowe in the final. Lewis returned to England to turn professional, and boxed under the UK banner throughout his pro career. 

He was a three-time world heavyweight champion, and defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999 to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. During his career, Lewis defeated the likes of Gary Mason, Donovan Ruddock, Frank Bruno, Oliver McCall, Tommy Morrison, Andrew Golota, Shannon Briggs, Hasim Rahman, David Tua and Mike Tyson as well as Holyfield. He retired aged 38 in 2003 after stopping current WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in six rounds on a cut eye. 

The last Englishman to win gold in the super-heavyweight class at the Olympics was Audley Harrison in Sydney 2000. James DeGale won gold in the middleweight class in the 2008 games in Beijing, the only GB boxer to do so. Both Harrison and DeGale turned pro with mufti-million pound promotional contracts.

Harrison fell short of emulating his idol Lewis, losing to David Haye in three rounds in a WBA heavyweight title challenge last year. DeGale is a top ranked contender after just 12 fights, and has already held the British, Commonwealth and European titles. He is scheduled to challenge for a version of the world super middleweight title in 2012. If he is successful, DeGale will become the first ever GB gold medalist to lift a professional world crown.