The 30-year-old light heavyweight took a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after losing to the British boxer, and he’s keen to correct the loss over the course of a longer fight.

He told Boxing News magazine: “I am ready to fight anyone, including Whittaker.

“But I especially would like to meet him in the ring as a professional, because in amateur boxing, it’s only three rounds and he didn’t want to box all these three rounds.

“In professional boxing, I don’t think he’ll be able to run away through all 12 rounds.”

After turning pro, Imam is determined to get to the top and hopes to be regarded as one of the sports “greats” in the years to come.

He added: “In amateur boxing, I only became a [bronze medal] winner at the Olympic Games, but in professional boxing I want to be the ultimate champion of the world and then walk away.

“When I was little, I watched Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.

“Great fighters like Roy Jones Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, I would like to be like them.

“It’s easy to understand why they are the greats of all time.”