It is, in some ways, a poor man?s version of Marvelous Marvin Hagler against Thomas Hearns. Though they possess no more than about a tenth of the skill of legends like Hagler and Hearns, Angulo (20-1, 17 KOs) and Kirkland (29-1, 26 KOs) have the real possibility of putting on a savage, jaw-dropping war like Hagler and Hearns did in Las Vegas in 1985.
That epic three-round bout remains the standard by which all subsequent slugfests are judged. Angulo and Kirkland, though, have the offense-first, lead-with-the-chin styles that frequently lead to sensational battles.
?This fight is either going to be compared to Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns, or it?s going to be [an Arturo] Gatti-[Micky] Ward-[type], where you have a war for 12 rounds,? promoter Oscar De La Hoya said. ?So no matter what the outcome is, we know this fight is going to be very, very entertaining and a very great fight.?
Though it?s the expected comment from a promoter, in this case, De La Hoya is telling the truth. This is that rare fight in which you have two aggressive, offensive fighters with knockout power in both hands and precious little defense.
There are, however, questions about both guys. Kirkland spent nearly two years in prison, just as he was becoming a contender at super welterweight. In his first major bout after being released, he was destroyed by the light-hitting Nobuhiro Ishida on April 9, knocked out in less than two minutes.
There had previously been questions about Kirkland?s chin, and the Ishida bout did nothing to dispel them. Ishida had come into the bout with seven knockouts in 30 pro fights and was no more fearsome than a six-month-old kitten.
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He looked like Hagler, though, the first time he breathed hard in Kirkland?s direction. Kirkland was down three times and wobbling around as if he?d been on a two-night bender.
Kirkland, though, lobbed the blame at his then-trainer Kenny Adams. Adams, the coach of the 1988 U.S. Olympic boxing team, is one of the greatest trainers of this ? or any ? generation.
Kirkland, 27, had nothing but praise for Adams prior to the fight, and nothing but disdain for him since, which seems to be more an indictment of Kirkland than Adams.
He?s since rehired his original trainer, Ann Wolfe, and insisted he didn?t get the proper work in to face Ishida in April.
