By Eric Thomas: The highly hyped but recently exposed James Kirkland (27-1, 24 KO’s) will be returning to the ring on June 24th against a fighter to be named later on Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo Tecate. Kirkland, 27, was stopped in the 1st round in his last bout on April 9th by Nobuhiro Ishida. Kirkland needs to try and avenge his loss to Ishida, although it’s doubtful that Kirkland’s promoter will allow him to face Ishida again any time soon.
Kirkland was knocked down three times by Ishida before referee Joe Cortez literally dove on Kirkland while he was still down to prevent him from getting up one again. It was kind of comical, as Cortez only needed to wait until Kirkland got back up before grabbing him. He didn’t need to dive on him while he was still down. Whatever the case, the defeat by Ishida further exposed a chin problem that Kirkland and it’s going to be an area of concern moving forward. Kirkland needs to be able to handle getting hit and it’s worrisome that a light hitter like Ishida was able to knock Kirkland down so many times.
Kirkland has fought three times since being released from an Austin, Texas prison for a weapons violation. Up until the Ishida fight, Kirkland had been taking on soft opposition that he was able to destroy in one or two rounds. Ishida was Kirkland’s first decent opponent during his comeback and Kirkland failed miserably in that bout. Kirkland looked flabby and slow, and it’s surprising that he went into a serious fight like the Ishida bout looking so chunky. It’s going to take Kirkland a while for him to make boxing fans forget about the loss to Ishida.
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