Amir Khan continues to drift comfortably between the world of sport and the corridors of power. Yesterday, he was pushing his next bout, against Martin Kristjansen; tomorrow, David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, will be in Bolton to open Khan’s new gym.

The Commonwealth lightweight champion has put up £700,000 of his own money to build the gym in Halliwell, which will double as his new training base and a centre for local youngsters to get off the streets and into the sport. That Cameron, who visited the gym while it was being built, is keen to get behind the project shows that Khan, 21, has lost none of his star appeal.

“It’s full of kids, that gym, it’s not just for me - I want to give something back to the community,” Khan said. “Naz [Naseem Hamed] had his gym and it was just for him. I remember seeing his gym and it was beautiful, but it was just sat there, no one was using it when he retired. This gym is in a deprived area where there’s nothing there for the kids. You might get one or two Amir Khans from there.

“I’m just showing Mr Cameron around. But if he wants to put some gloves on and have a sparring session, I’ll take it easy on him.”

Kristjansen, from Denmark, whom Khan will face at ExCeL, East London, on February 2, is rated No 2 by the WBO, two places above Khan, but was a surprise choice when many expected a bout against Jon Thaxton, the British champion. A purse bid was due to be held today for that contest, but last night Khan pulled out of the bidding process. Frank Warren, Khan’s promoter, has a contract with ITV to show all of Khan’s bouts, so if the contest is to take place, it will be on Warren and Khan’s terms - even if that leads to Khan being stripped of his Commonwealth title.

“We made a very good offer to Thaxton, which was turned down,” Warren said. “He is completely pricing himself out of the market.”

“I’d love to fight for the British title,” Khan said. “If Frank comes and says I’m fighting for the British title, I’m never going to say no. I would have liked to have fought Jon Thaxton for this fight."

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