By Mark Vester
BoxingScene.com reported a few weeks back that Golden Boy Promotions was in talks with HBO for a March doubleheader that featured highly regarded prospects James Kirkland and Victor Ortiz. The deal is done, the date is March 7 and the opponents have been named.
Kirkland (24-0, 21 KOs) will get a huge test when he faces puncher Joel Julio (34-2, 31 KOs) in a junior middleweight contest. Julio was once regarded as the best prospect in boxing. He is coming off a November decision loss to WBO champion Sergei Dzindziruk. Dan Rafael reports that Sergio Mora was offered the shot at Kirkland and turned the fight down. Kirkland is hittable and his style has holes. Julio is a very live opponent here.
In the co-feature, junior welterweight Victor Ortiz (23-1-1, 18 KOs) will face former champion Vivian Harris (29-3-1, 19 KOs). Harris is coming off an October sixth-round stoppage of journeyman Octavio Narvaez. The fight took place on a small New Jersey card and saw Harris come within an inch of being stopped by Narvaez. Many felt the stopping of Narvaez was premature.
According to Rafael, Golden Boy is trying to place super featherweight Robert Guerrero (22-1-1, 15 KOs) on the show, making it a tripleheader.
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