Canelo Alvarez has moved on from WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, and has turned his attention to James Kirkland, one of boxing's hardest punchers. The fight will be televised on HBO, not pay-per-view, and will only be moved off May 2 if Floyd Mayweather Jr. faces Manny Pacquiao on the same night.
Kirkland has not been in in the ring since knocking out Glen Tapia in Atlantic City in December 2013, and his manager Michael Miller said facing Canelo on such a long layoff isn't ideal.
"I wish it would have come without a big 17-month break," Miller said. "We were asked in November if we wanted a tune-up but we said if you're gonna give us Canelo, let's just go right to May and he can use that time to train."
Kirkland, despite his power, will be an underdog against Alvarez. Here are the three keys for the "Mandingo Warrior" to pull an upset.
Get Moving
Kirkland has built a reputation as a blood-and-guts terminator. He stands in front of them, and almost without fail outslugs them until they can't take it anymore. Tapia's bludgeoning is one of the best examples of this, but Kirkland has stopped other credible foes too, such as Alfredo Angulo (common opponent with Alvarez) and Carlos Molina.
Against Canelo though, Kirkland may not be able to fight this way. Alvarez has easily worked his way through brawlers before such as Angulo, Josesito Lopez, and Shane Mosley.
The fighters who have troubled him are slick boxers like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Erislandy Lara.
Kirkland is never going to fight with as much movement as someone like Lara, but going toe-to-toe with Canelo doesn't work. Kirkland will need to improve his head movement, and be able to change distances to throw Alvarez off his game, otherwise a stoppage is in play.
Cover Up
Kirkland takes chances in the ring because he has rarely ever been in there with an opponent that can match or exceed his power. Trading shots with Tapia isn't the same as trading with Alvarez. Canelo is not just a very hard puncher-he is very accurate, and throws proficient combinations.
Alvarez's best moments are when he is throwing laser-like combos that transform opponents from foes to survivors.
Kirkland isn't going to wilt easily, but he's shown he can get hurt in the ring. If he gets tagged by too many of Canelo's punches, those blurry moments may be the end of the fight.
Mix In Southpaw Stance
Alvarez has looked bad at times against Austin Trout and Erislandy Lara, two defense-oriented southpaws. Kirkland isn't going to suddenly hop on his bicycle vs Canelo in the biggest fight of his life, but he can throw different looks at Alvarez by getting comfortable with a southpaw stance.
Alvarez has tons of boxing ability, but at his core he is someone that likes to brawl and trade. Confusing him inside the ring might slow down his attack, and let Kirkland get off first with his power. Even studied fighters like Keith Thurman are susceptible to confusion inside those ropes-some of Leonard Bundu's maneuvers caused Thurman to pull back on his aggression.
Kirkland might want to try similar tactics.
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