By Dan Ambrose: If Marcos Maidana (29-2, 27 KO’s) is interested in getting a fight on the HBO network, Maidana will get a shot against the loser of Saturday’s bout between WBC light welterweight champion Devon Alexander vs. WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley. Maidana, 28, may not be pleased at having to fight the loser of that fight instead of the winner, but he might be wise to take the fight if HBO offers it to him because they reportedly are looking to have Maidana fight the loser if this bout in way of having a tournament-like elimination process.

Maidana will get the benefit of fighting in front of a lot of boxing fans and will likely be getting a partially depleted Bradley or Alexander for the fight. It’s a match-up that will be a tough one for Maidana, because he’s not blessed with a lot of foot and hand speed, and he’ll have problems trying to catch up to these quicker fighters.

At the same time, Maidana is going to have to fight better in the early rounds of the bout and not wait until the 2nd half of the fight to start finding success. Maidana struggled in his last fight against WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khanin the first part of the bout, having a hard time landing shots against the constantly moving Khan. However, in the 2nd half of the fight, his pressure and power began to take over the fight. The judges still continue to count Khan’s flurries in scoring the rounds, but the more telling shots were landed by Maidana in the 2nd half of the bout. Maidana will have to put a lot more pressure on Bradley or Alexander if he wants to avoid losing again.

Maidana can always say no to fighting the loser of the bout and hope that he can get a better fight against perhaps the winner of the Zab Judah vs. Kaizer Mabuza fight. That might be a better option for Maidana because at least he would be fighting for a title instead of taking on a diminished loser.