Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland: Winner, Recap and Knockout Reaction
The Houston Astros' Jed Lowrie or Jose Altuve will not connect with a baseball harder than Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KO) hit James "The Mandingo Warrior" Kirkland (32-2) on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.
Boxing fans who were displeased with Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s win over Manny Pacquiao last week got the all-out brawl they hoped to see in Houston. Canelo savagely knocked out Kirkland in the third round of a Texas back-alley brawl.
Per HBO Boxing on Twitter, Roy Jones Jr. accurately assessed Canelo-Kirkland and compared it to last week's more professional and tactical Mayweather-Pacquiao bout:
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Kirkland came to fight from the opening bell. He seemed to land a hard right hand in the first round that may have stunned Canelo. The latter took some time to collect himself and then began to counter Kirkland's wild advances.
While he was ferocious, Kirkland was also defenseless. He left himself open for tons of counter shots, and Canelo capitalized on every opportunity. He floored Kirkland in the first round with a counter right that sent his opponent tumbling into the ropes.
Kirkland would rise to his feet, but he looked wobbly the rest of the round. Somehow he escaped, but he didn't seem to have regained his wherewithal even in the second frame. Canelo looked to conserve some energy in respect of his opponent's iron will, but he had to know it was just a matter of time before he took Kirkland out.
In the third and decisive round, Kirkland regained some of his pep and went back on the offensive. His moderate flurry would be short-lived. An uppercut dropped the hard-charging Texan to his knees. He quickly picked up referee Jon Schorle's count and got to his feet at seven.
Canelo would go in for the kill from there. With one of the most well-orchestrated knockout punches you'll ever see, Canelo feinted to the body with the jab and came over the top with a powerful right hand that caught Kirkland flush on the jaw.
It looked like a knockout in the old EA Sports video game Fight Night Champion. Schorle didn't bother to count, as it was all academic before Kirkland's body came crashing down to the canvas. HBO Boxing has the punch that ended the fight:
Bleacher Report's Kevin McRae called the finish the KO of the Year:
The action words to describe the KO kept flowing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael and CompuBox:
This type of win couldn't have come at a better time for Canelo. Every young fighter seems to be vying for their opportunity to take over as boxing's No. 1 attraction once Mayweather hangs up the gloves. With dynamic finishes like the one Canelo delivered Saturday night, he might have jumped to the front of the line.
While it takes a trained eye to appreciate what Mayweather does in the ring, a win like the one Canelo earned over Kirkland speaks to even the most rudimentary fight fan. It was Mike Tyson-esque.
After the fight was over, Canelo was peppered by suggestions for his next opponent almost immediately. Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix pleaded for a much-anticipated new chapter in the Mexican-Puerto Rican boxing rivalry:
When asked by HBO's Max Kellerman whether he would fight Miguel Cotto or even middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, Canelo showed no hesitation in accepting any challenge:
Both fights would be extremely interesting, but one thing is for sure: Cotto and Golovkin ain't Kirkland. With all due respect to The Mandingo Warrior's toughness, he couldn't dodge a parked car. It's hard to determine if he has a chin because he simply allows opponents to have at his beard at will.
He's a brawler custom-made for a skilled and hard puncher like Canelo. To his credit, the 24-year-old Mexican superstar did exactly what he was supposed to do.
While Canelo's career options are wide-open, it's hard to imagine where Kirkland goes from here.
He'll get some pats on the back for his toughness and heart, but the fact of the matter is knockout losses like the one he suffered Saturday take years off fighters' career and possibly their lives. There seems little doubt he'll be back in the ring at some point, but his ceiling has been clearly defined by this loss, if not lowered.
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