By Steve Kim

A match-up that had been rumored for the past few weeks is now a done deal as the mercurial James Kirkland (32-2, 28KOs) has put his name on the dotted line to face Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33KOs) on February 25th near the Dallas, Texas area.

"He signed this morning," confirmed Mike Miller, who is the adviser and attorney for Kirkland, who last fought on May 9th against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and was stopped in three rounds. "Weight limit is 153, that's the negotiated weight."

When BoxingScene.com asked why, Miller quipped,"Because they asked for 152. I had to at least get another pound."

For this contest, Kirkland is reuniting with trainer, Ann Wolfe.

"Yes, she was at the meeting this morning," said Miller, who believes his client is in the right frame of mind going into this contest. "It's been a long time since I've seen him this excited. I think just to get back in there. It's been a long time since he's fought. He's ready to go, he can't wait. He's already started training.

"As for as his training camp, it'll probably be half in Austin (Texas), half in the L.A. area, there's plenty of work and plenty of sparring for him out there and so he's excited. He's ready to get the band together again with Ann and get this thing going."

Cotto, who is trained by Freddie Roach, has been out of the ring since last November, when he lost a twelve round decision to Canelo. That fight took place at a catch-weight of 155-pounds. The fight with Kirkland is slated to be carried by HBO Pay-Per-View.

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com