Mo Nasir was nine years old when he arrived in Wales with an uncertain future ahead of him, but boxing glory already in his sights.

Nasir hardly spoke a word of English - or Welsh - but hailing from the Yemen, he was well-versed in the achievements of his compatriot Naseem Hamed.

Ten years of dedication later, Nasir's dream of one day emulating his idol is close to reality as he heads to the Commonwealth Games in search of gold.

The 19-year-old light-flyweight from the St Joseph's club has caused a sensation on the amateur circuit this season and already boasts a Commonwealth Federations Championship title last August.

Now his trainer Tony Borg believes Nasir is ready to head Down Under and emulate the achievements of Cwmbran's Jamie Arthur who won the lightweight title in Manchester four years ago.

Borg said: "Mo has made a big breakthrough this year and turned from a good junior into a good senior with no problems at all.

"That is often the stage when you lose them but Mo is so dedicated to his sport he always seems to be down the gym.

"I remember him walking into the gym when he was nine years old, he was so small and didn't speak the language.

"But Mo was a natural who took to the sport right away. He'd been watching Naseem Hamed and all he ever wanted was to do what Naz did."

Nasir's form this season has carried him up to fifth place in the European rankings and earned him the chance to head to Mianyang City in China for November's World Championships.

There it was Nasir's misfortune to be drawn against Cuba's experienced Olympic champion Yan Bartelemy in his first fight and Nasir went down to a 26-10 defeat.

However Borg believes Nasir learnt more in that fight than in many of his victories, and could return home with the praise of the 27-year-old Cuban great ringing in his ears.

"Mo was never in any trouble and the way he performed against such a good opponent was a real credit to him," added Borg.

"Mo has proved he can live with the top guys and he is a tremendous talent. He has every chance of doing well in Melbourne."