Alvarez Impressed Against Kirkland… But Don’t Discount Style Factor

Published

10 years ago

May 12, 2015

This past Saturday night, junior middleweight sensation Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 45-1-1 (32) did what he was supposed to do.

And that was take out dynamite punching southpaw James Kirkland 31-2 (28) in an impressive fashion, and did he ever do that.

Yes, in the end Alvarez, age 24, was just too technically proficient for a borderline crude attacker like Kirkland. James is so offensive oriented and fun to watch, the problem is he gets hit with his opponent’s Sunday punch too cleanly because he’s right there and so open. And as we saw, that’s the wrong deficiency to allow if Alvarez is in front of you simply because he’s one of the more accurate guys around in terms of punch placement.

Some will say that Kirkland’s chin betrayed him again and the fight was an easy call, and they’re not totally off the mark. I just don’t think it’s that easy, though.

Kirkland, age 31, ate some monster shots in the first round, went down, and still survived the round. In the second, he began to stabilize the fight and forced Canelo to fight more measured and pick his spots. Alvarez knew that if he bid his time, Kirkland would become over-anxious looking for the big shot, and that would ultimately give him another opportunity to set James up for his full repertoire of beautifully placed uppercuts and hooks. Yes, Kirkland was rocked throughout the duration of the bout, but he didn’t go out with the first or second big shot that found his chin directly in the way of Canelo’s perfectly leveraged shots. Eventually, he succumbed to the rinse-repeat pattern of that. And you know what, there’s nothing that his former trainer Ann Wolfe can do about that.

James Kirkland is an attacker the second he rolls out of bed in the morning. He’s not the least bit methodical in terms of his fighting style and mindset. And when you nail him real good or hurt him, he wants to hit you back twice as hard, thus leaving himself vulnerable and open for a sharp shooter with a little more than adequate power and hand speed the likes of Alvarez.

Canelo, being the better skilled fighter with more weapons and tools, saw everything that Kirkland was sending his way. On the other hand, Kirkland didn’t see any of the finishing punches that Alvarez was countering him with, and they’re the ones that get fighters out. “I did not see the punch coming that knocked me out,” Kirkland said. Kirkland isn’t unique in that regard, he’s just more routinely susceptible to them than other fighters fighting at the world class championship level of professional boxing.

This was an impressive showing by Alvarez, despite it being a somewhat predictable one. He was very collected and poised under fire. His chin showed again that it is world class and he has a good boxing brain. The set up lazy straight left to Kirkland’s body drew his attention away from the sweeping right hook that Canelo cut loose with at the perfect time in the third round and ended the fight. The punch landed flush on Kirkland’s lower jaw, and that’s where the light switch resides on most fighters.

The question is, did Alvarez look so good because he fought a very predictable opponent who was inclined to cooperate with him because he’s so easy to hit and whose defense erodes as the fight progresses? Very well that could be the case. Looking back at the fight you are tempted to say Alvarez looks to be at his best fighting as a counter-puncher who inches back and lets the opponent push the action…if nothing else, that was the correct strategy for him to employ against Kirkland.

If you think about the fighters mentioned as Alvarez’s next possible opponents, Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto, we know Mayweather will flip the role on him and force Canelo to fight as the attacker. As for Cotto, I seriously doubt he’ll carry the fight and initiate the action if he and Alvarez meet later this year. So in a way the book is still open regarding Canelo’s style identity. He’s definitely shown that he can inch back and counter – the issue I have pertaining to him is, how effective will he be when he has to push the fight? We saw against Mayweather that if you put something in his face, he has to think and plot his way in and doesn’t cut loose, thus his offense is stymied.

And if he fights Cotto, I’m certain Miguel is going to try and use his legs to pot-shot Alvarez and get out. Miguel knows he’d probably get hit too much by bringing the fight to Alvarez, something that Saul would no doubt relish.

With the right opponent in front of him, Alvarez is exciting and fun to watch. His fundamentals and basics are outstanding, and he doesn’t come undone when things don’t go his way or when he gets tagged real good. I have no interest in seeing him fight Mayweather again; then again I have no interest in seeing either Mayweather or Pacquiao ever fight again. However, Alvarez-Cotto would be interesting, and as much as I’d favor Canelo, Cotto is not one to simply write off. If Alvarez can win the lineal middleweight title from Cotto, if Miguel retains it against Daniel Geale next month, than Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin becomes a major attraction. Yes, Golovkin would be the betting favorite, but Alvarez brings things to the ring that Gennady hasn’t yet had to address. If we get to that fight, there will be plenty of interest and speculation in regards to the match-up, and fans can count on it being a spectacular bout as long as it lasts.

Thanks to Saul Alvarez and James Kirkland for giving boxing fans a needed injection of excitement after what may be the biggest joke of a big fight in boxing history last week, also known as Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

Published

17 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

1 day ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

Published

1 day ago

January 24, 2025

David A. Avila

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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