By Rick Reeno
Sources with knowledge of the details have advised BoxingScene.com that junior middleweight contender James Kirkland (32-1, 28KOs) has indeed signed a contract to face Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (44-1-1, 31KOs) on May 2nd at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The fight would be televised live on HBO and the current weight agreement falls on a 155-pound max (catch-weight used by Canelo for his last two fights).
Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya is scheduled to meet with Canelo later today in San Diego to wrap things up on his May return.
For weeks, De La Hoya was attempting to finalize a fight between Canelo and WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto. In the end, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement.
While De La Hoya told BoxingScene last week that Canelo was moving on , he budged a few steps from that position on Thursday afternoon and said Cotto was not "completely off the table."
However, on Thursday night BoxingScene spoke with Cotto's adviser, Gaby Penagaricano, who says there have been no discussions with De La Hoya since last Friday - when De La Hoya advised them Canelo was moving on.
"I have not spoken with Oscar since last Friday. I have several fighters who are with Golden Boy and I work closely with [Golden Boy VP] Eric Gomez. We've had some small conversations about it in passing, nothing serious, but me and Oscar have not spoken since last Friday," Penagaricano told BoxingScene.com.
Surprisingly, on Friday it was revealed to BoxingScene that Penagaricano assisted Kirkland with the Canelo negotiations. Penagaricano and Kirkland's legal adviser Michael Miller were both unavailable on Friday to comment on the matter.
There is a slight possibility of Canelo-Kirkland being pushed to another date - if a deal is ever reached on Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, which would take place on May 2 - although very few in the industry expect it will happen.
One source told BoxingScene: "The only reason Golden Boy has not announced Canelo-Kirkland for May 2nd is because HBO wants to give it a few more days to see how Mayweather-Pacquiao shakes out."
