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I couldn?t fall asleep last night,? said Big Steve during our Sunday morning ritual at Starbucks on Western Avenue:? That was one hell of a fight. Did you watch your son, Perro take a serious ass-whooping??
Boxing people in Southern California call El Perro Angulo my son, because of my affinity for the Mexicali slugger. Last night after the referee waved the fight off to probably save Angulo?s life and announced Kirkland the winner, I cried. Did I watch it? I got about twenty texts during the fight with the same question. I could not reply. My blood pressure went up. My throat got dry as I was glued to the TV witnessing a brutal carnage that had more violence and guts and drama in the first round than all of forty two of Floyd Mayweather?s fights combined. James Kirkland said he was going to die in the ring that night, but it was Alfredo Angulo who was as near death as a prize fighter can get when the referee mercilessly stopped the fight in the sixth stanza.
According to Kirkland, they got together before hand and talked about the upcoming battle. Both knew they were going to swing for the fences as soon as the bell rang. The boxing world knew and expected it too. What surprised most was that Kirkland was backing up Perro from the opening bell. Thirty seconds into the fire fight, backed into a corner, Mexican banger landed a hard and short right hand square on the chin of Mandingo Warrior who immediately crashed on the canvas. It was a kind of shot that would turn the lights out on most humans. Last night, however, James Kirkland did not seem human. He got up a little shaky, but was ready for combat. Smelling blood El Perro went for the kill; he assaulted his prey with shots from everywhere while chasing him around the ring for the next ninety seconds. Referee was watching the action intently considering the stoppage and at one point when Kirkland kind of turned away from the onslaught, I thought he would, but somehow the Texas brute survived and started to fire back while Angulo completely punched himself out. The momentum of the fray turned on a dime and all of a sudden it was Kirkland who was raining punches down on a Mexican warrior who was covering up. A monster body shot drove Angulo back and a follow up barrage dropped him on the canvas for the first time in his professional career.? He is done!? exclaimed HBO color commentator, Roy Jones Jr:? He can not come back!?
