Amir Khan stranded in Vancouver

The best active boxer to come through Vancouver lately won’t be fighting in one of those Rumble at the Rock promotions at Richmond’s River Rock Casino.

In fact, he won’t be going 10 official rounds with anyone in a squared circle in this international pugilistic outpost. Very few people even know that British-born Pakistani Amir Khan is in town.

The young, World Boxing Association light-welterweight champion has spent the last week training in a spartan, low-profile gym tucked into a row of auto shops off Southwest Marine Drive, preparing for his May 15 title fight against Paulie Malignaggi at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Khan, 23, had to leave the Los Angeles gym he’d called home since mid-March after an application for his U.S. work visa for the fight became an issue. Khan was forced to come to Canada to reapply. When the process took longer than expected, Khan’s trainer, Freddie Roach, flew to Vancouver so they could continue to train.

Khan said Tuesday that once the work visa is confirmed, likely today, he’ll immediately return to Los Angeles. But the polite, well-spoken fighter, who is considered a role model in England where he’s opened his own club in Bolton to get youth off the streets and where his worldwide charity efforts are well known, says he’s quite enjoyed his first visit to Vancouver.

"It’s good in a way that we can spread the training camps around because when you’re in the same place for four months it can get boring sometimes," said Khan as Roach taped his hands before a workout at Sugarrays Boxing and Fitness.

Khan has taken the SkyTrain to Metrotown Mall in Burnaby – "you can go around yourself and not too many people recognize you, it’s quite nice" – bought some 2010 Olympic clothing and also found time to watch "ice hockey" for the first time on television.

Roach, he noted, who grew up in Boston as a big Bruins fan, has even bought a Canucks jacket.

Khan’s management team was directed to Sugarrays by people associated with Manny Pacquiao, who had considered training at the gym before a fight last year. Without a full-sized ring, however, gym owner Bob Macadam had to scramble to quickly get one, shoehorning it into an area behind a rolling garage door.

A sign on the mat warns club members: "Please stay out of the ring to keep it perfect for Freddie, Amir and Taz."

"When I found out who it was and what the circumstances were, I said ‘Absolutely!’" said Macadam of the first contact by Khan’s business manager. "It’s an incredible privilege to have the man considered to be the greatest boxing trainer of all time and a world boxing champion in the gym. It’s unbelievable for me."

The British-born Macadam, who is moving his gym to a new location on Granville Street in six weeks, said Khan "is an unbelievably nice guy and an incredible athlete."

The only downside, laughed Macadam, is watching Roach work.

"I always thought I was a really great coach. Now I’ve met Freddie and now I realize I should take up knitting."

Khan, who won a silver medal for Britain at the 2004 Olympics, turned pro in 2005. Now 22-1, with 16 KOs, he won the WBA light-welterweight title in July 2009, with a unanimous decision over Andreas Kotelnik in Manchester, England.

He then defended the title in December, knocking Dmitry Salita down three times in the first round to score a 76-second TKO and handing the Ukrainian American his first loss.

The fight against Malignaggi, a former world champion, will be Khan’s first in the U.S. and broadcast on HBO.

"It’s every fighter’s dream to fight in America," says Khan. "The time has come and I want to make the most of it.

"I’ve fought all around the world as an amateur. A lot of people want to see me fight in America. If you want to become a big star in boxing, this is the place to do it."

Khan, whose hallmark is his lightning quick hand speed, says he’s confident going against the experienced, but light hitting Malignaggi.

"We’ve got a game plan me and Freddie have been working on. We’ve got a Plan A and a Plan B and if Plan A doesn’t work, then Plan B is going to work. Paulie is quite awkward and he can get a fighter quite frustrated. I’ve got the speed and power to stop him. We just have to stick to the game plan."

gkingston@vancouversun.com