By Chris Williams: It’s strange how things change so quickly in boxing. It was only a matter of a few months ago when World Boxing Association light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KO’s) was seen as not well known enough to be a good match for WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan. How, however, Maidana is not on well known in the United States, but is arguably the most popular fighter in the entire light welterweight division. That’s not taking anything away from excellent fighters like Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley, both of whom have a large following in the boxing world.

However, neither of them seem to have fan base that Maidana has right now in judging by the favorable threads and comments made about Maidana in internet forums. Maidana’s popularity among fans is pretty impressive given that only two of his fights against Victor Ortiz and Victor Manuel Cayo have been shown on HBO, and both of those fights resulted in 6th round knockout victories for Maidana.

Bradley has been shown on Showtime for awhile now, but he doesn’t seem to bring out the excitement that Maidana does for some reason, even though Bradley has looked great in beating fighters like Edner Cherry, Junior Witter, Kendall Holt and Lamont Peterson. The way that Bradley beats his opponents by using clever boxing mixed with a little power seems to be vastly different in how Maidana is getting his wins, beating down his opponents with huge shots.

The difference between Bradley, who people feel is the best fighter in the division, and Maidana are far apart. It seems that the American public really enjoys Maidana’s fighting style, his tendency to absorb a lot of punishment to keep moving forward to land his own crushing blows. It’s not a style that is anything like boxers like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Amir Khan and Bradley.

It’s odd now to think that Maidana wasn’t seen as well known enough opponent for Khan’s first fight in the U.S., when now Maidana is arguably the most popular fighter of all. Naturally, Khan remains a huge star in the UK, where he is mostly known. However, in the United States, Khan is still an unknown fighter and it’s doubtful that a win over his next opponent Paulie Malignaggi will bring him the kind of praise that Maidana has received recently.

What makes Maidana so special is that he’s taking on dangerous opponents, and not looking for guys that will make him look good or ones that have no power to test him. Maidana and his promoters are willing to put him in with the best there is in the light welterweight division and not have duck anyone. The fact that he’s being put in with a tough fighter like Bradley at this early point in Maidana’s career speaks for itself, showing that he’s willing to take risks.

Maidana could become the next huge star in boxing if he can get by Bradley and then turn around and get fights with Devon Alexander and Khan. Maidana’s power and his nonstop pressure are very hard to deal with and he has a way of wearing out his opponents by midpoint of his fights. Bradley is going to be a huge test for Maidana because of his speed and boxing ability. But I think Maidana has the power and the style that will make things very difficult for Bradley. I think win or lose, Maidana is going to the biggest star in the division. I think he’s going to beat Bradley, and then go after the other light welterweight champions Alexander and Khan. I think Maidana will be able to land a fight with Alexander, but getting a bout against Khan might still be difficult.