By Dan Ambrose: Junior middleweight contender Nobuhiro Ishida (23-6-2, 8 KO’s) looked sensational in destroying previously unbeaten James Kirkland (27-1, 24 KO’s) in a 1st round technical knockout last Saturday night at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tall 6’1” Ishida, fighting a lot like Gerald McClellan, came out incredibly fast off the blocks and knocked Kirkland down in their very first exchange.

Ishida then dropped Kirkland two more times as he continued to relentlessly attack Kirkland with fast combinations. Kirkland looked like he didn’t know what hit him. He was fighting someone that was much taller and a lot faster than him and he didn’t know what to do.

Finally, referee Joe Cortez came to Kirkland’s rescue and prevented him from getting up after the third knockdown. Kirkland protested the stoppage but Cortez really did him a big favor by saving him from getting bounced around even more. Ishida looked like he could do this all day.

With this win, Ishida, ranked #4 by the WBA, finds himself in the position where the champions now know who he is and could be looking at facing him in the future in order to get some fan interest. The way that Ishida put away Kirkland also could have the reverse effect with the top fighters not wanting to tangle with Ishida.

Normally, Ishida fights at a much slower pace and isn’t considered dangerous. However, if this is going to be his new fighting style, Ishida could suddenly become a knockout artist late in his career. He’s 35 now, and that’s kind of an advanced age for someone to start developing knockout skills.

For Ishida, speed is power and the way he puts his fast punches together it makes it difficult for the slower, shorter fighters to deal with that kind of attack. Personally, I’d like to see Ishida in with WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto. I think that would be a great fight with the size dimensions of the two fighters. Cotto, only 5’7”, facing the towering 6’1” Ishida in a back and forth war. I’d favor Ishida in that bout if he fights the way he did last Saturday. I’d also like to see Ishida in with the winner of the Saul Alvarez vs. Ryan Rhodes fight. It would be interesting to see how either one of those fighter deal with Ishida’s speed.