Great Britain boxing coach Terry Edwards has described Amir Khan as a boxer on the "up and up" as he prepares to face defending Olympic champion Mario Kindelan in Sunday's lightweight final.

And Edwards feels that Kindelan's best days are probably behind him, strengthening the prospects of Khan grabbing gold on the final afternoon of the Games.

The 17-year-old - bidding to become Britain's youngest ever Olympic boxing champion - has been the stand-out performer at the Peristeri Hall in Athens, bewildering his opponents with fast feet and fast hands.

But Khan also proved last night that he has the determination to go with his flashy skills when he defeated Kazakhstan's Serik Yeleuov in the semi-finals.

The sports development student found himself in the unusual position of being behind at the halfway stage, although he was able to turn the fight around and clinch a 40-26 success.

"On this level Amir's progressed and developed as the tournament has gone on. He's gone up and up," said Edwards, who worked with Audley Harrison when he won gold in Sydney four years ago.

But the young Briton will have to raise his game even further against Cuba's Kindelan, a three-time world champion who is regarded as the best amateur lightweight in the world.

At least Khan has youth on his side - Kindelan is 33 now and plans to retire after these Games.

"I said it the other day that Kindelan is a magnificent boxer who has got everything, but I think he's reached a plateau," added Edwards.

"I remember seeing him in action a couple of years ago and he was just a dream. But he's now reached his peak and is on the way down, I think, or reached a plateau. Amir's on the way up."

The two boxers have met before, in a pre-Olympic test event earlier this year, and Kindelan was a clear winner on the scoreboard.

However, Edwards insisted: "One thing is for sure - if Kindelan was to beat Amir on Sunday, it would not be by the margin that he beat him in the test event."