Ben Jones is focused on ABA glory tonight despite having his dreams of a headline-grabbing showdown with Olympic hero Amir Khan dashed.

Khan won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics at lightweight but has stepped up to light-welterweight for his debut in the ABAs this season.

This means he avoids a potential clash with Jones, a Crawley Amateur Boxing Club lightweight, who fights tonight in the quarter-finals in Sheffield.

The two have met before in the ring. Jones, a former Fulham youth team footballer, sparred with Khan at an England training camp at Crystal Palace.

Jones, 22, will turn professional next year and admits another meeting with Khan would have set him up nicely.

He said: "Khan was normally in my weight but he has gone up a weight for this Championship.

"I would love to have fought him in the final as there would have been a lot of money involved afterwards.

"If I could have beaten him then I would have done amazingly well. It would have been a shame to get him early on though."

Jones, a plumber, has a record of 12 wins from 14 bouts as a senior and avenged one of those defeats to become Southern Counties champion last Friday night when he beat Southampton's Matty Tew in the finals at Folkestone.

He takes on North East Counties champion Jamie Dyer, of Burmantofts, tonight, with his confidence high after his emphatic points win over Tew.

Jones said: "All I know about Dyer is that he stopped his last opponent in his area final but I'll let him worry about me.

"I have every chance and I hope to win it but boxing is a funny old sport.

"I boxed really well in my last fight and nearly stopped my opponent.

"If I carry on boxing like that I should be all right.

"The training has gone well. Most boxers usually drop weight for the championships and they do it so quickly that it can affect them. I have done it gradually and feel good and won't be weight-drained."

Crawley featherweight Robin Deakin is also in action against Gary Sykes of Cleckheaton Academy, Yorkshire.

Deakin has reached the quarters without throwing a punch due to a lack of entries in his division at the Southern Counties stage.

He faces a tough task against a boxer who is currently ranked top of the amateur Four Nations rankings based on results up to January 7 of this year.

Crawley trainer George Brown is not letting any negative thoughts enter his mind. Brown said: "They have both got chances, it is just about how they perform on the night. We'll be going there to win.

"Ben boxed really well against his last opponent and Robin boxed well when he last fought. We're going there with two Southern Counties champions and, god willing, we'll come back with two national semi-finalists for the club."

West Hill light-heavyweight Adam Haniver has withdrawn as, like Deakin, he has had a series of byes so far.