By Lem Satterfield
The returning James Kirkland (25-0, 22 KOs) will likely end a 21-month layoff by returning on the December 11 non-televised undercard to Amir Khan's defense of the WBA junior welterweight title against Marcos Maidana at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Kirkland was imprisoned since April 2009 after pleading guilty to a charge of gun possession by a convicted felon. He was released on Thursday from Bastrop Federal Prison in Bastrop, Texas, and will spend the remaining months of his sentence in a halfway house in Austin.
Among the three opponents being considered for Kirkland, who has not fought since March, 2009 when he stopped Joel Julio, are 24-year-old Delray Raines (18-8-1, 13 KOs) of Paris, Ark., 22-year-old Francisco Sierra (23-3, 21 KOs) of Mexico, or 26-year-old Derrick Findlay (17-3, 11 KOs) of Gary, Ind. Raines is the leading candidate.
Lem Satterfield is the news editor for BoxingScene.com and the boxing editor for AOL FanHouse. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
