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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. [Click Here To Read More]
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. [Click Here To Read More]
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