UPDATE: Kirkland is hurt, and will not be facing Canelo Alvarez in September. Canelo is back in search of an opponent.
After the tragic injury suffered by Paul Williams, ending his boxing career and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, Saul Canelo Alvarez was in need of a new opponent for his September 15th fight date. According to ESPN.com, that man has been found, and it will be James Kirkland.
Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland is, by and large, an even better fight than Alvarez’s potential clash against Williams. Alvarez is ranked at number 4, and Kirkland at number 6, in our most recent junior middleweight division rankings.
For Canelo, Kirkland will be the biggest and strongest opponent that he will have faced. Canelo clearly has the edge in skill and technical boxing ability, but Kirkland’s power and sheer aggression should provide him with a major challenge to overcome.
It will be interesting to see what happens if and when Canelo gets tagged with a big shot, and what kind of style he will adopt in order to prevent Kirkland from just wading in and connecting with bombs.
We’re still waiting for news on Paul Williams and his surgery to stabilize his spinal cord. We’ll keep you posted with any further information there.
