It was the fight that actually lived up to its build as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez squared off against James Kirkland on HBO in front of a pro-Canelo crowd at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
It was one of the best opening rounds in the last few years as both Kirkland and Canelo landed hard shots that counted for both guys. Kirkland started off the fight with bad intentions, and he walked Canelo back into the corner and started letting his hands go. He was tagging Canelo, who couldn’t seem to get out of the corner, and even when Canelo was able to get out of the corner Kirkland would just chase him down with a punch first mentality.
Canelo would not be out done, and as Kirkland was coming forward, Canelo managed to catch him with left-hand hook that completely shifted momentum. It was difficult to catch, but if you looked closely you could see that Kirkland was hurt and not coming forward with the same strength. Canelo then took the fight on his shoulders and eventually scored a first round knockdown, a position that Kirkland has been in before and knows how to handle it.
It was a beautiful shot for Canelo, and he was able to sap the energy from Kirkland. However, Kirkland found a way to make the last few moments count and he was clearly able to continue, although he fell into a trap at the end of the round and took a ton of punishment.
The second round was almost the exact opposite; Canelo continued the momentum he left the first round with and was dictating the pace. Canelo was building a comfortable lead before Kirkland managed to stage a small comeback. Kirkland was throwing continuously, but his punches didn’t have as much on them as they did a round ago.
The third and final round was incredibly entertaining as Kirkland tried to maintain the onslaught he was putting up and unleashing punch after punch, presumably to make up for the loss in power. Kirkland was showing every bit of his heart and will, but Canelo was displaying the kind of skills that we’d expect from a seasoned veteran.
Canelo was landing almost every shot, and it became target practice. Eventually, Canelo landed a well-timed and well-planted uppercut that floored Kirkland. Kirkland hit the canvas, but he managed to get back up.
Moments later, with the unknown stability of Kirkland’s legs on both fighters’ minds, Canelo tried to close the show and ended up landing a highlight reel knockout off of an overhand right that absolutely obliterated Kirkland.
It was a scary moment as Kirkland went limp, but he woke up after a few moments past.
Canelo-Kirkland was as great as 3 rounds can be, and a potential Canelo-Cotto fight looks increasingly interesting.
