As the boxing world struggles to come to terms with the accident involving Light Middleweight contender Paul Williams earlier this week, attention has slowly began to switch to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. For those who are unaware, the unbeaten Mexican scarlet was scheduled to meet the South Carolina native in September before the ‘Punisher’ severed his spinal cord after crashing his motorcycle on Monday. But every cloud has a silver lining, and this one comes in the form of hard hitting Texan James Kirkland, who looks set to fill the void left by the untimely incident.
Steve Carp, of the Las Vegas Review journal, tweeted ‘Just talked to Kirkland’s manager Cameron Dunkin. Fight with Canelo for 9/15 not a done deal yet but they’re close. Maybe tonight it gets done, Wednesday at the latest but it sure looks like it will happen. It’s a shame it had to happen this way but don’t blame Kirkland for accepting.’
On paper, this is an exciting match up. Canelo, fresh off his win against an over-the-hill Shane Mosley, still has question marks lingering over his head, and Kirkland may be the man to answer them. Despite many believing Alvarez to be a future p4p star, his recent run of opponents have been less than awe-inspiring. British duo Matthew Hatton and Ryan Rhodes remain the Mexican’s stand out wins to date, with the mentally fragile Kermit Cintron, the accident Carlos Baldomir, and the aforementioned Mosley making up his resume.
Kirkland also remains an enigma. Having amassed a perfect record of 11-0 (9 by KO), Kirkland was imprisoned in for armed robbery in 2003, costing him two-and-a-half years out of the ring. Upon his return, 13 opponents were blasted out, with only one lasting the distance before another stint in prison followed, this time with Kirkland pleading guilty to firearm charges. Just a month after returning to the ring, Kirkland was sensationally knocked out by the awkward, if unknown, Nobuhiro Ishida in under two minutes.
It seemed as if Golden Boy had given up on their knockout artist, and a fight scheduled between Kirkland and the once-beaten Alfredo Angulo in Cancun, Mexico. In a fight of the year contender, Kirkland rallied from a first round knockdown to stop the hometown favourite in the 6th round. Kirkland’s purple patch didn’t last long, however. In his very next fight, the Texan was out-muscled and out-thought by Carlos Molina, before winning by a controversial disqualification as Molina’s corner entered the ring after the Mexican fighter had been put down at the bell.
Canelo Alvarez vs James Kirkland is very much a crossroads fight for both fighters. Golden Boy Promotions see Canelo as a future pay-per-view star, but Kirkland’s hard hitting pressure may give the 21 year old trouble in the early stages. Both men can hit hard with either hand, and both have been hurt in the past, so a knockout either way is very much a possibility. While I very much expect Canelo to beat Kirkland, the hard hitting Texan is certainly a live underdog.
Whatever the outcome, expect an all out war come September 15th.
{SQUARE} {SQUARE1} {SQUARE2}
{loadposition SQUARE3}
