By William Mackay: I think HBO would really help themselves if they pushed to have Argentinian knockout artist Marcos Maidana (29-2, 27 KO’s) face the winner of the Timothy Bradley vs. Devon Alexander bout instead of WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan. Think of it it like this way: By having Maidana fight Bradley or Alexander first, it would give boxing fans another chance to see the division’s most exciting fighter – Maidana – and then possibly set up a rematch between Khan and Maidana should Maidana beat the Alexander-Bradley winner.

If Alexander or Bradley beat Maidana, then Khan would still be getting the shot against them. They could call it a tune-up fight for the Bradley-Alexander winner by having them face Maidana followed by Khan. I think it would be an excellent idea, because really the fight boxing fans want to see is a rematch between Khan and Maidana, not a fight between Khan and Alexander/Bradley. This isn’t a knock against Bradley or Alexander, but those guys aren’t as popular nor as exciting to watch compared to Maidana.

If I’m an HBO executive, I’d be pushing as hard as possible to reinsert Maidana in the equation to get him in against the Bradley-Alexander winner rather than have Khan move in and take the fight. It let’s the whole thing play out just a tad longer while keeping the tournament’s most exciting fighter in there a little longer for a possible rematch with Khan. If they just let Khan fight the Alexander-Bradley winner, then Maidana is out by virtue of his 12 round decision loss to Khan earlier this month. Khan failed to prove that he’s the better fighter in that bout and many boxing fans felt that Maidana either won it or that it should have been a draw.

But the number #1 reason to leave Maidana in the tournament-like competition is that it could lead to a Khan-Maidana rematch, and really that’s the fight boxing fans want to see. If HBO doesn’t push for this, the chances of Khan ever facing Maidana again during his career are slim and none. Khan doesn’t plan on fighting him again and will go back to fighting the light punchers he’s been matched against in the past two years. He won’t risk his skinny neck by getting back in the ring with Maidana unless he’s forced to by Maidana having beaten the Alexander-Bradley winner.

Khan plans on moving up to the welterweight division if he beats the Bradley-Alexander winner, and that will finish any hopes of Khan ever fighting Maidana again. This is why HBO needs to use their power to reinsert Maidana as the guy that faces the winner of the Bradley vs. Alexander fight. I think it would be the smart move because for entertainment purposes, they really need to keep Maidana in there as long as possible. Alexander and Bradley aren’t particularly exciting fighters to watch, and without Maidana, it’s going to be a boring chess match between the winner of that fight and Khan. It’s going to be filled with boring running, jabbing and just timid fighting. Maidana is the only one of those fighters that’s worth watching. Watching Khan fight is like watching paint dry. Just plain boring. You have to make him run around the ring like a chicken with it’s head cut off by putting him back in with Maidana. Now that’s entertainment.