He fought his first match when he was 14 years old, following this with numerous wins in several foreign tournaments and the Ústí nad Labem Grand Prix. He took part in the Czech Republic Championship four times as a junior and five times as a senior. He was second in the European Juniors Championship in Sifoku in 1995 but one year later he lost in Havana where he came sixth. He won the bronze medal in the World Championship in Budapest in 1997 and repeated the feat in Texas in 1999. He achieved second place in the Córdoba Cardin tournament in Cuba and the Olympic Games in Sydney (in 2000) crowned his amateur career. However he lost his first bout there.