The fight was, as promised, an old-school Texas shootout. It looks like it?s High Noon again in Boxing?
HOUSTON, Texas?Saturday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, former WBA/WBC super welterweight champion Canelo Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs), the red-haired slugger from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, KO?d James Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs), aka the Mandingo Warrior, from Austin, Texas, at 2:19 of round three.
The fight was a wonderful war with generous portions of give-and-take by both men. It was also the perfect antidote to last week?s letdown of a superfight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
With the 30,000-plus in attendance cheering him on, Canelo, fighting out of the blue corner in black trunks with green and white trim, coolly studied his opponent before the opening bell. A ring veteran despite his tender age, he was determined to make a statement and at Kirkland?s expense.
Fighting out in the red corner in black trunks with red and silver, Kirkland, by contrast, was busy punching himself in the face. He was loosening up, getting ready, eager to search and destroy, unaware that Canelo, the coolest of cool customers in the opposite corner, was about to save him the trouble.
When the gong sounded to start the fight, Kirkland bolted from his corner looking for a knockout. He landed two short rights, followed by a straight right left. He was reaching the Mexican wunderkind. But Big Red landed a hook that stopped Kirkland in his tracks. Canelo landed an uppercut, the first of many, followed by a jab and straight right. Kirkland was wide open. A quick 1-2 by Canelo dropped Kirkland to the canvas at 1:15. He jumped to his feet, only to be greeted by another left hook and eight or nine unanswered punches. When Kirkland tried to counter the fire was gone. Canelo unloaded another uppercut at the bell to the end the first. Kirkland made it though the round, but just barely.
In round two, Canelo was on Kirkland like white is on rice. He was landing lefts and rights on an immobile target. Mandingo has heart to spare. Defense is another matter. Suddenly Kirkland landed a short left that drove Canelo to the ropes. The Austin native was unloading, but not only wasn?t he protecting himself at all times, he wasn?t protecting himself any of the time. Canelo came on at the end of the round. Kirkland was eating punches at the bell.
The third was Kirkland?s Waterloo. He was outworking Canelo at the beginning of the round. A looping left pushed Canelo to the ropes. He played rope-a-dope while Kirkland channeled George Foreman by throwing wide punches at a moving target. With Kirkland running out of steam, Canelo caught him with a body shot that drove him back to ring center. Then Kirkland walked into a right uppercut that put him down a second time. Again he got to his feet again, and again he got nailed again, this time with a picture-perfect right that knocked him cold.
The time of the stoppage was 2:19 of round three.
Canelo landed 87 total punches to Kirkland?s 42. He landed 8 jabs to Kirkland?s 1. And in the power punch department, Canelo connected with 79 of 132 power punches thrown for 60 percent. Kirkland connected with 41 of 177 power punches thrown for 23 percent.
The fight was, as promised, an old-school Texas shootout.
It looks like it?s High Noon again in Boxing.
