By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com has been advised that a deal has been reached to match James Kirkland (31-1, 27KOs) against WBC junior middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (40-0-1, 29KOs) on September 15th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The fight will headline a pay-per-view event. Kirkland's legal adviser, Michael Miller, tells BoxingScene that he reached an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions a few hours ago. Golden Boy promotes both Alvarez and Kirkland.
Last week, an agreement was reached for Alvarez to fight Paul "The Punisher" Williams. However, this past Sunday in Atlanta Williams was involved in a tragic motorcycle accident which left the boxer paralyzed from the waist down.
Following his March ten round disqualification win over Carlos Molina, Kirkland underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair two tears in his right shoulder. It was initially believed that Kirkland would not be able to fight until the month of October. However, Kirkland was medically cleared on Wednesday by his treating physician.
"September 15th, it's on. [James] is ready. He wants to go to training camp tomorrow. He's ready to go. I asked him 'what about the shoulder' and he said 'I'll cut my arm off and beat that boy with my cut off arm if I have to - make the fight.' That's how excited he is about it. He is ready to go," Miller told BoxingScene.com.