NEW YORK (October 16, 2013) — Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s SMS Promotions officially announced its signing of world light middleweight contender James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland (31-1, 27 KOs) to an exclusive promotional contract.
“James concentrates on conditioning and building strength,”50 Cent said. “He brings the fight to you and is aggressive in the ring. The crowd loves the action and I’m excited to make him a part of our team.”
“I had a relationship with 50-Cent before he came into the boxing business,” Kirkland explained. “We already had a friendship when he got this group together. He can do what no other promoters can do. He’s a different type of promoter who can make things happen in and out of the ring for me. It’s clear to me that I made the right decision.”
Due to problems outside of the ring, the 29-year-old southpaw from Austin, Texas has been inactive since stopping Carlos Molina in the 10th round of their March 24, 2012 fight in Houston. Kirkland successfully defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Americas 154-pound title belt, originally captured November 5, 2011 when the knockout artist registered an impressive sixth-round technical knockout of Alfredo Angulo (20-1) in Mexico.
Molina is now the reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) World light middleweight champion, while the WBA No. 5-rated Angulo recently lost a World Boxing Association (WBA) Interim championship fight.
Kirkland returns to the ring December 7 as part of an HBO tripleheader, headlined by Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Joseph Agbeko, also featuring Mathew Macklin vs. Willie Nelson, from Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
In the third HBO fight, Kirkland faces undefeated prospect and North American Boxing Organization (NABO) light middleweight champion, Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia (23 KOs), from nearby Passaic (NJ). Rated No. 10 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), as well as No. 14 by the IBF, the 23-year-old Tapia is a rising star who had a 130-4 amateur record and gained invaluable experience as Manny Pacquiao’s former sparring partner.
“I had this great opportunity come along with Glen Tapia,” Kirkland spoke about his upcoming fight. “He just doesn’t have what comes with knowledge in boxing, but he will know that December 7th. There are different levels of fighting, as they say in the street, and he hasn’t fought anybody at my level in his 20 fights. I don’t talk too much before a fight but, he doesn’t have to worry about being 21-0, because I’m going to knock his ass out December 7th.
“The proof is in the pudding. All I have to do is put in extra work and that’s what I’ve been doing. I’m not overlooking him. This is his ‘Mayweather’ fight. He wants to win and be an exciting fighter on HBO…..that’s not going to happen! It all comes down to me boxing at my best; I can beat anybody at 154 pounds or 160, name anybody. Who does what I do? There are a couple of cats at 160 who can put on a great performance but, right now, I’m concentrating on Glen Tapia. Congratulations for him getting this fight but we are at different levels.”
In addition to his aforementioned victories over Molina and Angulo, Kirkland’s other notable wins have been against Brian Vera (TKO8), who just lost a controversial decision to Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., Joel Julio (TKO6) and Eromosele Albert (TKO1).
Although Kirkland will have been inactive 20 1/2 months when he fights Tapia, the explosive Texan doesn’t feel ring rust will be a problem at all for him. “A lot of people know that I haven’t been on a long layoff,” Kirkland concluded. “I’ve been working hard since the beginning of my lawsuit. Now that things are in motion, I’m jumping right into the mix. My sparring sessions are like fights for other guys.”
Fans may follow 50-Cent on Twitter @50cent and friend Kirkland at https://www.facebook.com/pages/James-Kirkland/736672159693254.
SMS Promotions’ growing stable of fighters also includes two-time world featherweight and reigning Interim WBA lightweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, former International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight titlist Billy Dib, former world super middleweight title challenger Andre Dirrell, undefeated lightweight prospect Mark Davis, light welterweight Luis Olivares and junior welterweight Donte Strayhorn.
Kvachatadze blazes through the first round
Almaty, Kazakhstan, October 16, 2013 – Georgia’s Zaal Kvachatadze looked very good as he motored through his first opponent in the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Today we had the first Light Flyweights (49kg), the Welterweights (69kg) and the Light Heavyweights (81kg) showing their stuff in front of an appreciative crowd in this boxing loving country.
Bout of the session
This was was certainly the battle between Korean Hyeongkyu Kim and Aolin Zhang of China at Light Heavyweight. This was an epic bout with the Chinese boxer surging forward in bursts and the Korean willing to welcome him in. The Korean boxer fired off his jab from a very low position initially; almost from waist height and relied on his right hand to cover. This made it his punch hard to spot and meant his jab scored frequently but the tactic carried fairly obvious defensive consequences at times as well. With 50 seconds left in the third round the Korean dropped the Chinese boxer with a good uppercut. This was probably the deciding factor in the Korean taking the win.
Perhaps not the most stylish bout of the session though also notable was the fight between Tanes Ongjunta from Thailand and Joshua English of Australia at Light Flyweight. This bout stood out for the sheer graft and hard work both boxers put in. They worked on each other with the same ferocious intensity for all three rounds. Neither fighter held anything back and the control of the fight went back and forth like a rocking chair supper-charged by a petrol engine. In general, the Thai team is looking great this year and it was indeed the Thai fighter that took the bout, though credit must be given to the Australian for pushing him all the way to the final bell.
APB boxer of the session
Mark Barriga took to the ring for his native Philippines against Road to Almaty boxer Ngoc Huynh from Vietnam at Light Flyweight. Barriga himself of course is a graduate from the Road to London program so there was an interesting angle to this one. The young Vietnamese boxer was certainly confident despite being in the ring with one of the best Light Flyweights in the world today. In round two, the boxers really began opening up with Barriga, who is a southpaw, using his overhand left and Huynh landing some nice hooks with his right. The Vietnamese athlete didn’t look outclassed in any way and was well able to mix it but you felt that when Barriga did land it had more impact. Anecdotally, this seems to be something that is characterizing the WSB and APB boxers in contrast to their AOB colleagues in these Championships. AOB boxers tend in general to throw more shots than boxers on the other programs, but the WSB and APB boxers seem to be more energy efficient in picking their punches and ensuring that they land with more potency. This is clearly a function of the increased number of rounds they compete for in AIBA’s other competitions. The tactical nuances aside in this particular case all three judges awarded the bout to Barriga 30:27.
WSB boxer of the session
Georgia’s Zaal Kvachatadze who boxed for the LA Matadors in Season II had an easy start to the tournament against Sri Lanka’s Tharindu Gedara at Welterweight. Initially feeling his opponent out, the Georgian began landing absolute bombs halfway through the first round and dropped the Sri Lankan with a body shot for a standing 8 count with 1:23 remaining. The Sri Lankan tried to return fire but it felt like it was only a matter of time before he was in trouble again. Sure enough he was dropped for a second time shortly after with an enormous left hook to the body. The referee had seen enough with five seconds remaining of the first round. Kvachatadze certainly looks like one of the standout competitors in the Welterweight category early on.
Road to boxer of the day
Welterweight Carl Hield from the Bahamans looked lively against Scotland’s Lewis Benson. In the first round, Benson made good use of the whole ring he danced around his opponent clipping him with jabs, while Hield seemed a little off the pace. By the second round however there was a change in him, as though some of the early nerves were out of the system and he was free to box. From then on he caused his Scottish opponent some real problems and deservedly took the bout. “I had a slow start to the fight but I picked up after the first round when I started to get warm”, admitted the Caribbean athlete. “But my dream is to have a fight with the Kazakhstan boxer, because I want the opportunity to prove my point. So I really needed that win. I hoped they were going to give me an Olympic champion, but against a Kazakh boxer at least I can prove my point because they always have good boxers”.
One to watch
Russia’s Belik Galanov looked very sharp at Light Flyweight against Vadym Kudryakov of Ukraine. Galanov has an unusual style of boxing but it seems to work for him, standing orthodox but with a long stance he often drops his hands below his waist to invite the punch so he can lean back and counter. The length of his stance gives him space to do this. He looked very comfortable against his Ukrainian opponent and while we didn’t see enough of him to make any firm predictions, it will be interesting to see how he develops over the competition. Will he retain this exposed stance or will he get punished for it.
Mongolian Erdenebayer Sandagsuren may also shock some people this year. Certainly he shocked the American team and Geremias Torres, whose coach felt obliged to throw the towel in to protect his fighter in the final round. With the American taking two eight counts in the first and another in the third, the power and accuracy in the Mongolian’s hands was noteworthy. Watch this space.
Surprise of the session
Kenyan Welterweight boxer Rayton Okwiri took on Australia’s Daniel Lewis and looked good doing it. Whenever an Australian has taken to the ring so far this tournament, it has meant a serious battle for whoever is standing in front of them. Lewis kept this tradition alive by proving to be as rugged as his compatriots. The Kenyan however seems to possess a nice blend of skill, athleticism and a willingness to go forward and mix it up as required. He earned a well-deserved victory, and the support of the crowd.
Quote of the session
“AIBA really made me who I am today because I’ve been to all the “Road to” training camps. Italy, Baku, Wales… And now I’m here. It’s helping me because I’m the only Elite boxer in my country, so I don’t get decent sparring, and the training facilities are really bad so thanks to the AIBA program I was able to come here two weeks before, get good time with other countries and get a good training program” – Carl Hield, Bahamas and Road to Dream boxer.