If you are looking for a boxing match this Saturday night on HBO?s Boxing After Dark from Cancun, Mexico between Alfredo ?Perro? Angulo 20-1 (17 KO?s) of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, and James ?Mandingo Warrior? Kirkland 29-1 (26 KO?s) of Austin, Texas in this WBC junior middleweight title eliminator, you will not find it. What you will find are two fiercely determined bangers who will come at each other fast and furious from the first bell, in a fight that in all likelihood will not last more than a few rounds if that. With Kirkland possessing an almost 87% KO ratio and knowing only one way to fight, straight ahead, while Angulo knocks opponents out at an 80% clip and is well suited to an all out brawl, don?t go to the kitchen. The survivor in this head on collision will be determined by who will land the big shots first to back his adversary up, coupled with who?s chin will hold out long enough to be able to deliver the decisive blow en route to what will surely be a knockout victory for one or the other fighter .
Since his release from prison and subsequent half way house stint, all five of James Kirkland? most recent bouts have not lasted past two rounds, winning four of those contests by knockout, while he was conspicuously kayoed himself by light hitting Nobuhiro Ishida in the very first round, suffering three knockdowns along the way. In the case of ?Perro? Angulo, four out of his last five fights have not gone past three rounds, as he went undefeated during that stretch, with his longest outing being an eleventh round KO stoppage against highly touted Colombian prospect Joel Julio in April of 2010, a common opponent of both he and Kirkland. This recent history is just one more reason I don?t see this fight getting out of the first few rounds, in what looks to be a potential all out fisticuffs affair which may prove to be similar in nature to a Hagler-Hearns type battle, although on a lessor skill level.
Aside from his recent KO defeat at the hands of Ishida where James Kirkland seemed out of sorts with balance issues, slurred speech, and the demeanor of a fighter beyond his years, the ?Mandingo Warrior? looks to be back in rare form as he was in 2009 when he defeated highly ranked Joel Julio while working his way to a title shot as one of the most exciting fighters to watch in the sport of boxing. However, James seemingly at the peak of his title run at that time, was abruptly sent back to prison to serve a two-year sentence for the crime of buying a gun, thus violating his probation which was a condition set for him as a result of previously being convicted of armed robbery back in 2003. Returning to action and on now the cusp of a title shot in the biggest fight of his career to date, Kirkland has been reunited with trainer Ann Wolfe, who?s arduous training regimen consists of lining up nine to ten sparring partners at a time, as well as having numerous fighters simultaneously go at James in an effort to forge mental and physical toughness, which by all outward appearances has been very successful to this point. After going through 18 different sparring partners in preparation for his bout with Angulo, James stated, ?my mind frame is seek and destroy.?
