The ongoing boxing saga of who will fight who this coming May has lost one of it’s major players as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has signed to face James Kirkland. Details are still being hashed out, but the fight is expected to be held at the AlamoDome on May 2. Alvarez had long been rumored to face Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto for what was expected to be a major PPV, but this fight will apaprently air on HBO’s main channel.
Kirkland is 32-1 with his lone loss coming by TKO in 2011. Since then he has scored five victories in a row, and he finished all those fights before the scheduled time. He has 28 stoppages in his 32 wins and is considered a big puncher. His lone loss is considered more of a fluke where he got caught, and he appears to have put personal problems behind him for this latest run. He was once considered a top prospect, but a lack of big names in opposition has taken the shine off his star a bit. With Canelo next, that problem is solved and he is looking to break into the big time.
While Alvarez was talking about a big fight with Cotto, and he wanted to make the Cinco de Mayo fight dates his this year, Kirkland does not seem like the “dance partner” who brings a load of fans and followers on his own. It is going to be Canelo and his pretty face that market this one, since Kirkland is not a draw. The odds will favor Alvarez pretty heavily when the lines do hit the books.
And what happened to Cotto? Cotto’s name is now in the Floyd Mayweather sweepstakes, as Floyd and Manny Pacquiao have failed to come to an agreement for their anticipated super fight. Pacquiao has Amir Khan as his Plan B fight and the whole planning is a mess. It is not surprising that Alvarez and his promoter Golden Boy have struck first and come to an agreement. Kirkland has the potential to make it a good fight, but Golden Boy matchmakers are not looknig to make Kirkland king, they are looking to get Canelo a win.
For reference, here is Kirkland’s lone loss, to Japan’s Nobuhiro Ishida:
