Last night on HBO, Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez brawled with James Kirkland before breaking through and stopping Kirkland with a big right hand that crunched Kirkland’s jaw and sent him out. For Alvarez, the match was just the type of result he needed to make sure his star continues to rise.
Alvarez is already the biggest star in Mexican boxing, and he continues to extend his appeal into the USA. Not that Kirkland is a huge name by any means, but he is an aggressive boxer, and Alvarez showed he is not afraid to get into a scrap. Alvarez was always supposed to win this fight, as his promotional machine will have him vying for a big money fight for his next outing. The fact is, he was looking for a dance partner like Miguel Cotto for this slot, but negotiations got extended and he settled on Kirkland.
For Kirkland, it is impossible to predict what the future holds. Though talented, he has been around for a long time and usually is his own worse enemy. He had not fought in more than a year, and though he had put together five-straight wins after his last setback, he showed up for this fight without his trainer, two-weight division former world champion Anne Wolfe in his corner. That foreboding absence proved fatal for Kirkland. Though has an exciting style, he is going to have to develop into a more defensive fighter who protects his chin a bit better. Chins are one thing in boxing that traditionally do not improve as you age.
The Minute Maid Park in Houston had over 30,000 people in the audience, so Alvarez, at 24 years old, is building himself up into a bona-fide star. Puerto Rico’s iconic Miguel Cotto has a date on June 6 with Daniel Geale. To be sure, Alvarez will be watching and waiting to jump in on Cotto’s next fight if the Puerto Rican is to win over Geale.
