James Kirkland: page 8

James Kirkland: record, next fight and profile →

Watch: Canelo Lands Vicious Right To Crush Kirkland

•May 9, 2015

Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas - It was originally scheduled for 2012. Almost three years later we get the fight. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32KOs) scored a vicious third round knockout of James Kirkland (32-2, 28KOs). Kirkland brought the drama to Canelo, landing hard combinations and getting Canelo to the ropes. Canelo started firing back and dropped Kirkland with a big right hand. Kirkland got up and started firing back but Canelo was unloading with both hands and had him in serious trouble in the closing moments.

Canelo Embraces War, Brutally Knocks Kirkland Out

Francisco Salazar

•May 9, 2015

By Francisco Salazar - (HOUSTON, Tex.) - If boxing was dead after May 2, which was a narrative used over and over, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez victory sure gave it much-needed life. Especially with a highlight-reel knockout. Alvarez dropped Kirkland three times in route to a action-filled third round knockout victory over James Kirkland before a vocal crowd of 31,588 at Minute Maid Park. With the win, Alvarez improves to 45-1-1, 32 KOs, while Kirkland dropped to 32-2, 28 KOs. The highly-anticipated bout between Alvarez and Kirkland might have been what the sport needed. Floyd Mayweather's win over Manny Pacquiao last week did little to give the sport a jolt after weeks of coverage and turned off casual fans to the sport. Kirkland was seen as an opponent to test Alvarez. While he did suffer a first round knockout loss to Nobuhiro Ishida in April of 2011, Kirkland is a dangerous puncher, especially during the first three or four rounds of a fight. Alvarez had not fought since July 12, when he defeated Erislandy Lara by split decision. He was supposed to fight Joshua Clottey on December 6, but withdrew from the fight in October, citing a previous ankle injury. From the opening bell, Kirkland went straight at Alvarez, backing him up in a corner, unleashing a barrage of punches, including two left hands that Alvarez took well in the first minute of the fight. The tide turned midway through the round when Alvarez dropped Kirkland with a lead right hand to the chin. Kirkland got up and fought back, but it looked as though he did not have his legs underneath him.

Alvarez vs. Kirkland: BoxingScene.com Staff Predictions

Jake Donovan

•May 9, 2015

Saul Alvarez heads back to HBO following a near three-year hiatus from the network that helped him develop into a boxing superstar. His homecoming takes place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, where he will face murderous punching James Kirkland in the evening's main event.

Joshua Clottey, Joseph Diaz, Taishon Dong Win Bouts

Francisco Salazar

•May 9, 2015

In the opening bout of the Golden Boy Promotions card, Armando Pina stopped Zacharia in the second round. As the bout progressed, Pina (6-0, 6 KOs) landed more punches at will onto Kelley, who looked exhausted midway through the second round. Pina ended matters when he trapped Zacharia (4-11, 4 KOs) against the ropes, battering him with punches before the fight was stopped at 2:45.

Canelo vs. Kirkland: CompuBox Historical Review

CompuBox

•May 9, 2015

Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas - Junior middleweight contender James Kirkland is the much busier fighter, while former 154-pound champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is more accurate with his power shots and has faced the much better opposition. Canelo will not want to get into a fire fight with Kirkland. 80% of Kirkland's thrown punches are power shots and 88% of his landed punches are power shots. Kirkland's chin can be dented. Canelo makes his return to HBO and TV Azteca, after fighting for the last few years under rival networks Showtime and Televisa.

Coach Warns: You will see a very different James Kirkland

Ben Jacobs

•May 9, 2015

In the lead up to tonight's potentially explosive clash between Saúl 'Canelo' Álvarez and James Kirkland, much of the talk has been about who will not be in Kirkland's corner after the American opted not to train with Ann Wolfe. That doesn't concern Rick Morones Jr who has an opportunity to establish his own credentials as a trainer on the world stage. Fighter and trainer hooked up after Kirkland decided to set up his training camp in San Antonio, where Morones is based. "I knew who James Kirkland was before camp started. What surprised me is how motivated and hungry he is to win this fight and he's been very dedicated in training camp," explained Morones to BoxingScene.com.

Canelo Alvarez-James Kirkland: Pre-Fight Report Card

Cliff Rold

•May 9, 2015

by Cliff Rold - If there is more action Saturday night on HBO (9 PM EST/6 PM PST) in the first round than there was in twelve rounds last weekend, would anyone be surprised? James Kirkland always brings it. Canelo Alvarez will be waiting. This is the sort of fight always easy to anticipate. It could end early or become a dogged war. Either way, fans will know they saw two young, hungry fighters still trying to prove something. For Kirkland, it could be a last chance to stay in the thick of things. For Alvarez, it could be the critical step on the road to a showdown with Middleweight Champion Miguel Cotto. Kirkland doesn’t necessarily have a great chin. He does have a scary one. Here’s why: it gets better as he warms up. There are fighters who, for whatever reason, are vulnerable early but seem to take punches well the deeper a fight goes. In Kirkland’s case, it makes sense. He puts so much pressure, and has such heavy hands, foes can’t get the same leverage in later rounds that they do early. Alvarez has a tool to counter the attack and that’s his jab. Alvarez has a good, hard jab. It sets up the rest of his game. He hides the right well off of it and goes to the body in combination. Will the southpaw stance of Kirkland mess with his timing? It did against Erislandy Lara but that’s such a different style match it’s hard to draw much from it.

Canelo Feels Better Prepared For a Mayweather Shot

Random Hits

•May 8, 2015

LONDON - Mexican ace Canelo Alvarez says he is ready to claim the mantle of boxing’s pay-per-view star after Floyd Mayweather hangs up his gloves. The 24-year-old light-middleweight takes on big-hitting James Kirkland this weekend, live and exclusive on BoxNation, in an edge-of-the-seat thriller in front of 35,000 at the Minute Maid Park in Texas. Despite refusing to overlook the dangerous Kirkland, the flame-haired superstar is prepared to fill the gap once Mayweather calls it a day following his last fight in September and has even opened the door to a rematch with the money man after his 2013 points loss. “I'm ready. I'm ready for whatever comes to my career. I work hard, I train hard, I fight the best, and if that's the role [next PPV star] that I have to take once they're [Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao] gone, then yes, I'm ready for it,” said Canelo.

Weights: Canelo, Kirkland Both Come in at 154.5-Pounds

BoxingScene Staff

•May 8, 2015

Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland is a 12-round super welterweight bout presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Canelo Promotions, SMS Promotions and Leija*Battah Promotions. The fight will take place Saturday, May 9 at Minute Maid Park in Houston Texas and is sponsored by Corona Extra, Mexico - Live it to Believe it!, Fred Loya Insurance and O'Reilly Auto Parts. Doors open at 11:00 a.m. CT and first bout starts at 11:10 a.m. CT, the HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Tickets for May 9 Canelo vs. Kirkland are priced at $350, $150, $100, $50 and $25 plus applicable fees and service charges, and are on sale now and available for purchase at Astros.com/boxing, the Minute Maid Park Box Office (Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000, online at www.ticketmaster.com. There is a 19-ticket limit per household.

James Kirkland Just Wants His Say In the Ring

Jake Donovan

•May 8, 2015

By Jake Donovan - Don’t take it personal if you get an agitated response from James Kirkland on the subject of why longtime trainer Ann Wolfe will not be in his corner this weekend. Nor should you think he’s taking offense to your question. The only issue at hand for the slugging southpaw from Texas is the fact that he’s being asked any questions at all while training—both his favorite and worst time of the year. “When it comes to training camp, I train hard,” insists Kirkland (32-1, 28KOs), who’s been deep on the grind in preparation for his May 9 showdown with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Houston, Texas. “Everyone claims they train hard. When I train, I give it my all. “I ain’t saying that just to spike up a crowd. That ain’t me. I don’t like to talk when I’m training. I don’t want to be your friend or your high-five buddy. I just want train and fight.” It remains a valid question of why—heading into his biggest fight yet—Kirkland would opt to go at it without the driving force behind the most successful moments of a career that his bridged 15 years. The 31-year old has done his best to remain civil while tackling the subject, one he expected to surface the moment word leaked out that the on-again, off-again fighter-trainer relationship was back in the latter status.