May 9th boxing fans were treated to a pretty fantastic, albeit short, fight. Canelo Alvarez completely destroyed James Kirkland in under three rounds, and in very brutal fashion. The first saw Kirkland come right at Canelo, and he did land a few punches that backed Canelo up but that only lasted for a short time. Just as soon as Canelo landed Kirkland was hurt. Almost everything that followed also hurt Kirkland who clearly was not the fearsome Kirkland we are used to seeing. Before long Canelo had Kirkland down. From that point on Kirkland had pretty much given up and was just there. His punches lacked the ferocity that they usually have and he seemed to have little to no skill or any real idea of what to do.
Canelo on the otherhand was brilliant. For a 24 year old he is very wise. He took his time and broke Kirkland down. In the third he caught Kirkland coming in with a devastating uppercut and to Kirklands credit he got up. But it was not long before he would be visiting the canvas again. Canelo jabbed to the body and came up full force with a right hand that effectively ended Kirkland and toppled him to the canvas in a heap. Canelo did exactly what he was supposed to do, shine. He showed that he can deal with pressure, and he showed it in very devastating fashion. But the question lingers about Kirkland and his long time former trainer Ann Wolfe.
Is Kirkland nothing without Ann Wolfe? We have to conclude that he is obviously not the same fighter without her. When he ditched her before he looked lack luster, and then in the next fight was brutalized by the light punching Nobuhiro Ishida. When he is not with her he seems to be lacking. He does not have the same ferocity or hunger that he does when he is with her. With Wolfe he seems to be a bloodthirsty maniac who will stop at nothing to end you. In fact, he doesnt even get that dinged up. Against Canelo he came out like he was that fighter, but it quickly vanished once the firefight started. She seems to bring something out of Kirkland that nobody else can, and that speaks volumes for Wolfe as a trainer. Kirkland is a sub-par fighter without her but a seemingly unstoppable beast with her. Her stock has to have shot through the roof after this.
I do not mean in any way to take away from Canelos hard fought victory and I am not saying that he would have lost had Kirkland had Wolfe, but it would certainly have been a very different fight. We can say for certain that he is a different fighter with her. He may not have won, but it would have been a much better fight. Now the sky is the limit for Canelo who no doubt looks to be the next big star in boxing after Floyd leaves the game. As for Kirkland, I do not think that even Wolfe can salvage him after this beating. In the post fight interview Kirkland sounded as if he had been fighting for 20 years. His speech sounded slow and slurred and he seemed as if he didnt even know what was going on. Granted, he just lost by KO but the effects of that loss seemed to have taken effect immediately. I doubt James will recover from this, even if he gets Wolfe back into his corner. But it was fun while it lasted and thanks for the wars James.
Canelo on the otherhand was brilliant. For a 24 year old he is very wise. He took his time and broke Kirkland down. In the third he caught Kirkland coming in with a devastating uppercut and to Kirklands credit he got up. But it was not long before he would be visiting the canvas again. Canelo jabbed to the body and came up full force with a right hand that effectively ended Kirkland and toppled him to the canvas in a heap. Canelo did exactly what he was supposed to do, shine. He showed that he can deal with pressure, and he showed it in very devastating fashion. But the question lingers about Kirkland and his long time former trainer Ann Wolfe.
Is Kirkland nothing without Ann Wolfe? We have to conclude that he is obviously not the same fighter without her. When he ditched her before he looked lack luster, and then in the next fight was brutalized by the light punching Nobuhiro Ishida. When he is not with her he seems to be lacking. He does not have the same ferocity or hunger that he does when he is with her. With Wolfe he seems to be a bloodthirsty maniac who will stop at nothing to end you. In fact, he doesnt even get that dinged up. Against Canelo he came out like he was that fighter, but it quickly vanished once the firefight started. She seems to bring something out of Kirkland that nobody else can, and that speaks volumes for Wolfe as a trainer. Kirkland is a sub-par fighter without her but a seemingly unstoppable beast with her. Her stock has to have shot through the roof after this.
I do not mean in any way to take away from Canelos hard fought victory and I am not saying that he would have lost had Kirkland had Wolfe, but it would certainly have been a very different fight. We can say for certain that he is a different fighter with her. He may not have won, but it would have been a much better fight. Now the sky is the limit for Canelo who no doubt looks to be the next big star in boxing after Floyd leaves the game. As for Kirkland, I do not think that even Wolfe can salvage him after this beating. In the post fight interview Kirkland sounded as if he had been fighting for 20 years. His speech sounded slow and slurred and he seemed as if he didnt even know what was going on. Granted, he just lost by KO but the effects of that loss seemed to have taken effect immediately. I doubt James will recover from this, even if he gets Wolfe back into his corner. But it was fun while it lasted and thanks for the wars James.
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