Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland Fight Announced: Latest Details and Reaction
After seeing a potential fight with Miguel Cotto fall by the wayside, Canelo Alvarez is instead setting his sights on James Kirkland. The two are slated to fight on May 9.
Continue for updates.
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Alvarez vs. Kirkland to Fight May 9 in Houston
Saturday, Feb. 21
Lance Pugmire of the LA Times reported Oscar De La Hoya announced the fight will take place May 9 at at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Alvarez vs. Kirkland Fight Announced
Friday, Jan. 23
Alvarez announced on Twitter that he plans on facing Kirkland:
The Ring Magazine and Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times then confirmed the news, with Pugmire adding that the event is scheduled for May:
It looked like Alvarez vs. Cotto was all lined up. Then, last Saturday, Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN.com's Dan Rafael that Cotto remained noncommittal. At that point, Alvarez and Golden Boy began looking elsewhere, eventually finding a fight with Kirkland.
Kirkland is 32-1 in 33 bouts, with 28 of his wins coming via knockout. He's riding a five-fight winning streak, and his last victory was against Glen Tapia on Dec. 7, 2013.
Alvarez is 44-1-1 in his career. He was last seen in a boxing ring winning a split decision against Erislandy Lara July 12, 2014.
Although Canelo vs. Kirkland doesn't have quite the appeal that a fight with Cotto would've had, it should be an entertaining spectacle nonetheless.
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