THE sense of unfulfilled destiny that comes from finishing a major championship with the silver medal galvanised Amir Khan to such a degree that he sought revenge on his conqueror from the Olympic Games before embarking upon a professional career that saw him become king of the world at light-welterweight.

The former World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation champion believes Josh Taylor will use his own heartbreak from the Commonwealth Games four years ago to give him the advantage in this afternoon's semi-final at Glasgow 2014 with Sam Maxwell.

Taylor wept with despair in Delhi in 2010 after losing the lightweight final to England's Tom Stalker. He admits he still gets angry watching the contest even now. The bittersweet memories from his rise to prominence aged just 19 remain with him every time he pulls on the Team Scotland vest.

Khan was 17 when he reached the final of the 2004 Athens Olympics in the same weight division for Team GB. After edging the first round against Mario Kindelan, he eventually lost 30-22 under boxing's old scoring system.

It was a defeat he admits stayed with him until he was handed a rematch with the seasoned Cuban at the Reebok Stadium in his native Bolton nine months later and outscored him 19-13. It exorcised his ghosts and allowed him to progress to the paid ranks with no sense of unfinished business.

Gold will do something broadly similar for Taylor and Khan believes his old scars, psychological rather than physical, coupled with a fervent home audience should give him the edge against his talented English opponent in a 64kg light-welterweight contest widely regarded as the final before the final.

"He can definitely use his silver medal from last time as motivation," said Khan. "He has been there and done it before and has the experience. The difference for him is that this event is in Glasgow. Fighting at home can really favour a fighter and judges can often veer more towards the home contestant if a fight is close. I think I would lean more towards him for this one.

"Missing out on gold in the Olympics definitely did serve as a motivational factor for me. It is going to be a good fight between Taylor and Maxwell. It is like a final. I think you can say it is the two best fighters in the division. Taylor will definitely be the favourite to win the gold medal if he gets past this contest."

Of course, amateur boxing has changed considerably since Khan's day. The judges now operate the 10-point Must system used in the professional game and headguards have now been outlawed by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

Stephen Lavelle, preparing for his heavyweight semi-final against David Light of New Zealand, is one athlete who has suffered badly for the lack of protection. He succumbed a nasty cut under his eye in his first fight with Kody Davies of Wales, which burst wide open again in the first round of his quarter-final victory over India's Amritpreet Singh.

Khan finds it astonishing that headguards have been banned. Research may have suggested their removal reduces the risk of concussion, but he points out that Lavelle's predicament highlights the major problem of having to step between the ropes day after day with wounds that simply don't have adequate time to heal.

"I cannot believe that AIBA have taken away headguards," he said. "If you hit someone cleanly, they'll go down, headguard or not. The headguards prevented head clashes, which happen more with the amateur style. They should have kept them. In the professional ranks, we only have that one fight, but the amateurs might have four or five in a week."

Reece McFadden will endeavour to keep his incredible story rolling along in the flyweight semi-finals against Andrew Moloney of Australia while Charlie Flynn goes back in at lightweight against Wales' Joe Cordina.

Mike Keane, Scotland's national coach, hopes the exposure these lads have enjoyed over the past week or so will help bring more money into a sport that desperately needs it. "The way the boys are performing, you can't say any of them are incapable of winning gold," said Keane. "Our funding is reasonable, but we need more to run a decent programme for our youths and juniors. We could really do with a big sponsor. It could help us hang onto some of these boys and prevent them from turning professional."

n Amir Khan was in Glasgow yesterday as a guest of United Wholesale (Scotland) - run by brothers Athif and Asim Sarwar - at the relaunch of their cash and carry depot in Pollokshields following a £2.5m expansion project.