KEIGHLEY boxer Muhammad Ali is unsure whether he will give the Olympics another shot, admitting: The professional game is made for me.

The 20-year-old, who returns to the ring for the first time since Rio next week, has European, World and Commonwealth targets over the next 18 months in the amateur ranks.

But it remains to be seen whether he will aim to improve on his early exit from last year's Games in Brazil when the 2020 Olympics take place in Tokyo.

The flyweight admits he much prefers the longer fights over 12 rounds in the paid ranks compared with three at amateur level.

He said: "Turning pro would suit me down to a tee – it’s made for me as the format is longer and I’m fit. I won’t let people breath because I know I can keep that pace going through 12 rounds.

"I've sparred with a few pros and I’ve dealt with them."

For now, Ali is happy to continue learning his trade in the amateur game and see where that takes him.

He is back in action a week today in Paris for a World Series of Boxing (WSB) bout in what should be the first of several appearances for the British Lionhearts in the five-round format.

He helped the team reach the final in their first season last year, when they lost to favourites Cuba Domadores in Uzbekistan.

Ali is a big fan of the series – televised by Box Nation – which features national teams competing across the ten AIBA-standard weight categories and is seen as a bridge between Olympic boxing and the professional sport. Six out of ten Rio boxing gold medallists took part last year.

Ali said: "Most tournaments are just in sports halls but these are big shows, a bit like a pro set-up. We stay in nice hotels, box at nice venues and get good crowds.

"We did well to reach the final last year. We've a good team again so hopefully we can do same.

"The five rounds suit my style as well. The longer it goes the better it is for me. Three rounds are over before you know it."

The Lionhearts went down 3-2 in their opening clash in Rome against Italia Thunder, when Otley bantamweight Jack Bateson – like Ali, a product of Bradford College's elite boxing programme – was among the losers.

Ali's seasonal bow against France Fighting Roosters is followed by fixtures at London's York Hall against Morocco Atlas Lions and Italia Thunder.

The Bury Amateur Boxing Club member, who spends half his week in Sheffield where he trains at the English Institute of Sport, then turns his attention to the European Championships in June – a competition in which he won silver in 2015 before claiming gold in last year's European Olympic qualifying event.

A top-eight finish would secure him a place in the World Championships in Hamburg from August 25 to September 3, with the April 2018 Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia also on his radar.