Traveling to train doesn’t faze champion

It wasn’t the ideal way to train for a championship fight, but Amir Khan isn’t second-guessing himself.

Khan, the WBA light welterweight champion, defends his title Dec. 5 in Newcastle, England, against Dmitriy Salita. But instead of staying in his native England to train, Khan has been in California and spent last week training in Las Vegas at the IBA Gym.

Khan (21-1, 15 knockouts) is trained by Freddie Roach, who also trains Manny Pacquiao. And with Pacquiao preparing for the biggest fight of his career against Miguel Cotto, Khan had to go where Roach was. That meant traveling, first to Los Angeles and last week to Las Vegas, where Pacquiao put the final touches on his preparations for what would be an impressive and dominating 12th-round technical knockout of Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden.

“Actually, it worked out quite well,” Khan said. “I got to train with Manny, which was a major plus. Anytime you can work out with Manny, it’s going to make you better. You have to work so hard just to keep up with him.

“It also was good to get away from all the distractions of home. Here (in Las Vegas), nobody knows me. I can focus on my job, and my training couldn’t be going any better.”

Roach said Khan is improving each day.

“He’s learning how to stick with a game plan,” Roach said. “He has tremendous power, but he’s learning that you don’t always have to go for the knockout. He’s much more mature and patient, and he has a great future ahead of him.”

Khan, who won the title July 18 when he earned a 12-round unanimous decision over Andriy Kotelnik, said he wants to hang onto the WBA belt for a while.

“It took me so long to get to this point, I don’t want to give it up right away,” he said. “Salita is a good fighter; he’s fundamentally sound. But I’ve faced many fighters like Salita, and I feel very confident with the way I’ve trained.”

• PACQUIAO-MAYWEATHER ODDS — A Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight might never happen. But if it takes place in 2010, you can bet on it now.

Station Casinos posted a line on a potential megafight between the two pound-for-pound giants, with Pacquiao opening a minus-160 favorite and Mayweather at plus-140. However, within an hour of the odds being posted, the Mayweather money started to pour in, and it’s currently a pick ’em fight at minus- 110 either way.

“This is a great betting event, and the match hasn’t even been made yet,” said Art Manteris, Station’s vice president of race and sports. “Clearly the betting public loves Pacquiao, and the professional sports handicappers love Mayweather.”

The only caveat is the fight must take place before Dec. 31, 2010. Otherwise, all bets will be refunded.

• GORRES UPDATE — Filipino bantamweight Z Gorres continues to make progress at University Medical Center following surgery Nov. 13 for two subdural hematomas after he won a 10-round decision that night at the House of Blues.

According to Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer, Gorres no longer is in critical condition and is doing better by the day.

“According to the doctors, he’s responding to commands,” Kizer said. “He’s still in serious condition, and the doctors are keeping a close watch on him. There’s still the danger he could suffer a setback.

“He’ll be in the hospital a few more weeks, and if all goes well, he could go home in January.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.