A welterweight showdown between former 140-pound champions Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana is in the works for either January or February. Both sides have agreed to the fight and are just waiting on the particulars to be ironed out. "All we need is a deal and a date," stated Alexander's trainer Kevin Cunningham. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer would also confirm the news.
After dropping a technical decision to Timothy Bradley in January, Alexander bounced back to earn a split decision victory over Argentine power-puncher Lucas Matthysse in June. Maidana, a fellow Argentine slugger, knocked out Petr Petrov in September after Robert Guerrero pulled out of the fight just weeks before the scheduled date due to a severe shoulder injury. The particulars have not been set for the fight.
Maidana is currently promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, and Alexander recently entered into a joint partnership with Golden Boy and his newly-formed promotional company, The Great Promotions. The fight should not be difficult to make for Schaefer.
If a fight with Manny Pacquiao doesn't materialize, one has to wonder if the winner of Alexander vs. Maidana could be in line for a shot at pound-for-pound kingpin Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather has a date secured for May 5th, but no opponent has been announced. Considering that Mayweather is the WBC welterweight champion, and Alexander is the #1-ranked WBC contender, the winner of this matchup could be a possible candidate to face the sport's biggest cash-cow.
Stay tuned to FightHype as the official announcement of this fight could be coming soon.
Email questions or comments to dkassel@fighthype.com, "Like" The Boxing Observer on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter @BoxingObserver.
[ Follow David Kassel on Twitter @BoxingObserver ]