From the Scene: On Saturday night, when an HBO-televised, junior welterweight double-header takes place at New York's Madison Square Garden, Devon Alexander will be an intense observer at the home of his trainer and manager, Kevin Cunningham. That's when WBA junior welterweight king, Amir Khan, of England, will make his American debut opposite Brooklyn's 29-year-old Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, five knockouts), and, 23-year-old "Vicious" Victor Ortiz (26-2-1, 21 KOs) takes on 37-year-old former world champ, Nate Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KOs) on the undercard. "You already know that's what I'm going to be doing," said Alexander to ***********.com. "I'm waiting to see what these guys are all about, and whether or not they're going to step it up." As the WBC and IBF junior welterweight champion -- the lone unifited titlist in what is perhaps the deepest division in boxing -- Alexander (20-0, 13 knockouts) will be taking in the action with an eye toward perhaps facing one of the four competitors down the road. "I will fight any of those guys," said Alexander. "And would fight them next month, because I'm always in shape." Of the four, Alexander's preference would be to meet Khan (22-1, 16 KOs), a former Olympic silver medalist, in a clash of 23-year-olds. If not Khan, Alexander would like to match his skills with another champion who is not involved in this weekend's activities, and that's 26-year-old, WBO champion, Tim Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs). Bradley's secheduled July 17 bout with 26-year-old WBA interim king, Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs) was canceled due to a back injury suffered by Maidana. Alexander's camp is looking for an opponent for Aug. 7 in his hometown of St. Louis, Mo. "It's not up to me, it's not up to my coach, it's not up to my promoter," said Alexander, a southpaw who is coming off of a March, eighth-round knockout of then-IBF titlist, Juan Urango (22-3-1, 17 KOs), who was stopped for the first time in his career. "But it's up to the people that want to show what they're about and who want to get in there with a real, true champion who has skills," said Alexander. "I think that I would like to get into the ring with one of the other champions [Bradley or Khan,] eventually, come the winter time, or, the beginning of next year." Meanwhile, Alexander will assess the skills of this weekend's four fighters in contests he said boil down to battles of youth and vigor against age and experience. "I think Malignaggi is going to put up a good fight, but I think that Amir Khan will win," said Alexander. "As far as Nate Campbell and Victor Ortiz, I don't really know. It depends on which Nate Campbell shows up. That one could be a good fight." Alexander gives each of the older men a shot, starting with Malignaggi. "Malignaggi's not a pushover or anything like that. If Amir Khan can't deal with the slickness of a Malignaggi, then Paulie Malignaggi's got a good chance," said Alexander. "Malignaggi does know what he's doing in there, and, Amir Khan is still a little green. But in the end, I think that Khan will be able to catch up to him, eventually." Ortiz-Campbell is a little more difficult to pick, said Alexander. "Ortiz's last couple of fights, they've been kind of iffy. He's been trying to find himself and not trying to rush himself. I think that he's trying to progress and learn more as a fighter," said Alexander. As for an opponent in August, Alexander said, "We still don't know." "We're still in the gym, still working hard. We're waiting on this weekend, seeing what's going to happen, seeing what these guys have got, what they talk up, and waiting to see if they can back it up," said Alexander. "But we're going to be analyzing everything," said Alexander. "And when the time comes, we're going to be circling up the wagons and taking no prisoners."
