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Junior welterweight titlist Marcos Maidana is ready to put February's lopsided decision loss to Devon Alexander behind him.

Maidana moved up to welterweight for the fight, as did Alexander, and was toyed with. Now back at junior welterweight to defend his belt, Maidana (31-3, 28 KOs), the big puncher from Argentina, has been in Oxnard, Calif., working with new trainer Robert Garcia and looking forward to a return to action later this summer against an opponent to be determined.

"I've felt very good in my first week training with my new team," Maidana said through translator (and adviser) Sebastian Contursi. "There are great fighters and a great atmosphere around here. Obviously, it will take me some time to adjust and get [into] great physical condition, but we'll get there with hard work."

When Andre Berto failed a drug test and was bounced from his June 23 welterweight rematch with Victor Ortiz, Maidana's name was at the top of the list as a possible replacement, according to Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer. Maidana, after all, made Ortiz quit in the sixth round of a sensational, knockdown-filled junior welterweight brawl in June 2009.

Golden Boy and Showtime are keeping the show in place, but Berto has been replaced by Josesito Lopez. With Maidana only a week into his new training camp, he said he wouldn't have had enough time to get ready for the date.

"The news caught me by surprise, of course," Maidana said. "My advisor, Sebastian Contursi, let me know that Golden Boy Promotions asked him whether it was possible for me to be ready for June 23. But, of course, I cannot do it in only five weeks. It's a shame that the time frame does not fit, as I would've loved to face Ortiz again.

"I know this is the second postponement [of the Berto fight] for Victor, and I feel bad for him. Maybe if Golden Boy Promotions can secure a new date, then we could talk about the rematch, because I know people want it."

Former junior welterweight Amir Khan is also looking for a new opponent after the cancellation of his May 19 fight against titleholder Lamont Peterson, who also flunked a random urine test. Maidana pushed Khan to the limit in a December 2010 title bout before losing a decision in a fight that was voted fight of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Khan likely will fight a new opponent on his rescheduled date of July 7, and Maidana's name has been raised for that spot, too.

"That's another rematch that I'd love to take," Maidana said. "Everybody knows that I've been asking to face Amir again, for more than a year now. But again, time-wise it does not work, as apparently Khan needs to fight on July 7. In any case, if either Ortiz or Khan are willing to fight me, I'll be ready for any of them by the end of July. I know Amir Khan is looking for his former belts to be given back to him after the Peterson case. If he wants a belt, let's move his date two or three weeks and try to get it from me in the ring."

Many suggested that because Khan and Ortiz were both looking for new opponents that they ought to have faced each other. Great fight, but it wasn't going to happen, at least not in their next bouts. Ortiz is locked into Showtime for the June 23 date. Khan, who has said quite clearly that he is planning for his next fight to be at junior welterweight before moving up in weight, is under contract to HBO. That rendered the possibility of an Ortiz-Khan fight this summer impossible.

Besides, even if they were free, it would make absolutely zero business sense for Golden Boy. Each date is worth seven figures, so why in the world would Golden Boy give up one of them?

Junior welterweight titlist Marcos Maidana is one of boxing's most consistently exciting fighters, so most fans probably don't care that he is just 2-2 in his past four fights. No matter who he fights, he'll be interesting to watch because of his aggressive style and powerful punching.

But Maidana made a big change -- and a needed one -- on Wednesday, announcing that he is going to begin working with trainer Robert Garcia, who has become one of the hottest trainers in the sport.

Garcia, based out of Oxnard, Calif., is assembling quite the stable. He trains Brandon Rios and Nonito Donaire, two of boxing's best fighters and rising stars, and he recently took over training former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, who won his comeback fight last week in his first fight working with his new trainer. Garcia also trains his younger brother, top featherweight contender Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia, and Antonio Margarito.

Now Garcia has added Maidana to the fold.

"It's a honor for me to know that Maidana is interested in training with me," Garcia said. "He has given the fans great fights so far. We are gonna work with him in my gym now, and I expect good things for him."

Maidana needed to make some sort of change after he was utterly outclassed by Devon Alexander in a welterweight bout on Feb. 25. Maidana was unable to adjust to anything Alexander was doing and lost a lopsided decision.

After the loss, Maidana said he would return to junior welterweight to continue defending his belt. Now he has made the change in his corner, with Garcia replacing Rudy Perez, a well-respected Mexican trainer best known for his work with all-time great Marco Antonio Barrera. Cristian Rodriguez, a longtime assistant trainer to Maidana and Perez, was in the corner for the Alexander fight in place of Perez, who could not make it because of illness.

"This is a great move for my career, so I'm excited about it," Maidana said. "By joining a trainer like Robert and his team, I'll be able to make all the necessary adjustments that are required for me to take me to the next level.

"We have nothing set yet, but I want to go back to 140 pounds for my next fight, as I didn't feel comfortable against Alexander. I am still a world champion and want to defend my belt. But especially, I want to redeem myself after such a lackluster performance."

Sebastian Contursi, Maidana's adviser, said he has been talking to promoter Golden Boy about Maidana's next fight. Ideally, he would like to have Golden Boy put Maidana on a card in September, perhaps on a pay-per-view show it is planning for junior middleweight titlist Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, assuming Alvarez beats Shane Mosley on May 5.

"I had a phone conversation with [matchmaker] Eric Gomez of Golden Boy Promotions," Contursi said, "and we'll talk again with him and [CEO] Richard Schaefer in the next few days in order to see what the possibilities for Marcos are. There are a few great fights out there in the [junior welterweight] division."

Contursi mentioned potential opponents such as newly crowned titleholder Danny Garcia, all-action brawler Michael Katsidis and the winner of the June 23 bout between top contenders Humberto Soto and Lucas Matthysse (Maidana's countryman from Argentina, who is also a tremendous puncher).

"All of them would be great matchups for Marcos," Contursi said.

Now it falls to Robert Garcia to make sure Maidana is ready for any of them, and to have a Plan B if necessary.

Dan Rafael riffs on a few of his favorite action fighters who will return to the ring in the coming days.

HBO put a solid 2011 in the books last week with Lamont Peterson's upset of Amir Khan to win a pair of junior welterweight titles in an exciting fight, albeit one saddled with the controversy of two questionable point deductions of Khan, which impacted the result.

Now attention can turn to 2012. Ken Hershman will take over as president of HBO Sports on Jan. 9, after leaving rival Showtime in mid-October for the gig -- one he couldn't start right away because of his contract with Showtime.

So while HBO waits for Hershman's arrival, the folks running the department for the time being, namely Mark Taffet and Kery Davis, have done a good job of putting together the first few cards of the year, even if they did lose the Feb. 11 Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto rematch to Showtime, after putting on their first (terrific) fight in April.

Despite that loss -- and make no mistake, it's a loss, especially when you consider how good the first fight was, how well it performed ratings-wise and how much money HBO has invested in the careers of Ortiz and Berto over the past few years -- the schedule being put together for the early part of the year looks very good. Let's take a look:

• Jan. 28: HBO is due to kick off its boxing year in Houston with a card that will be announced at a news conference Thursday: Future Hall of Famer Erik Morales will defend his (paper) junior welterweight title against energetic youngster Danny Garcia. When I first heard about the fight, I was a bit surprised it was happening because it wasn't a match I had ever contemplated. I figured Morales would look for a much bigger name for a fight that would generate more money. But Morales has never ducked anyone, and Garcia is one of the 140-pound division's rising contenders. They are both with Golden Boy, meaning it was a relatively easy fight to make. Morales' title is a joke, but that doesn't take away from the matchup. How can this not be an action fight?

I like the undercard fight, too, as it pits all-action junior middleweight James Kirkland -- coming off his memorable battle with Alfredo Angulo -- against Carlos Molina, who muscled his way into the 154-pound top 10 with an excellent recent run. He deserves this kind of fight. Frankly, Kirkland could shadowbox and it would probably be exciting.

• Feb. 4: HBO will stay in Texas -- San Antonio this time -- for the next installment of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. show. He'll defend his version of the middleweight title against an opponent to be named, and either of the fighters being mentioned for the assignment are solid: veteran contender and former title challenger Marco Antonio Rubio and undefeated junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan. I'd prefer to see Rubio in the fight, but either would be a good opponent for Chavez, who usually makes for crowd-pleasing fights.
I love the undercard fight. Nonito Donaire, one of the best fighters in boxing, is leaving the bantamweight division, where he was champion, for the junior featherweight division to face former titlist and top-five 122-pounder Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. for a vacant belt. Simply, I think this will be an action fight for as long as it lasts.

• Feb. 25: Marcos Maidana is like Kirkland in that both are prodigious punchers and make action fights no matter who they face. For this one, Maidana is moving up to welterweight and going to St. Louis, the hometown of his opponent, former junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander, who is also rising in weight. It's a good style match, too, with Maidana (a pure brawler and banger) clashing with Alexander (a speedy technician). The winner will become a player in a very lucrative division.

The undercard features newly crowned junior lightweight titlist Adrien Broner in his first defense, against fellow undefeated fighter Eloy Perez. Considering how weak the 130-pound division is overall, it's a reasonable first defense for Broner. If Broner wins, you at least know you'll be amused when he busts out his hairbrush after the fight.

• HBO has two other shows in the works. A March 3 card is tentatively supposed to feature Brandon Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa in separate fights. Rios, who failed to make weight and was stripped of a lightweight belt before his Dec. 3 win, may still fight at lightweight. His opponent is not determined. Gamboa, who is moving up from featherweight, likely will fight at junior lightweight. One name I've heard mentioned as a possible opponent is titlist Juan Carlos Salgado, which would be a nice fight. Rios and Gamboa, who may eventually fight each other, are two of the most exciting fighters around, so to get a chance to watch both on the same card in legitimate matches is a good thing.

The other card being discussed is for March 17 -- St. Patrick's Day -- with middleweight champ Sergio Martinez likely facing Irishman Matthew Macklin in New York. An excellent matchup, with a crowd that will be going bonkers. Andy Lee, another Irish fighter and a top middleweight contender, probably will be on the televised undercard, according to promoter Lou DiBella.
I wouldn't classify any of the fights on HBO's early 2012 schedule, or on the drawing board, as megafights. But to me, they are all worthy shows (assuming Chavez, Rios and Gamboa are matched legitimately) that should provide the two most important things: action and entertainment.