The Return of James Kirkland
By Damien Norman
On Saturday August 25th, 2001, in San Antonio, Texas James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland entered the ring as a Boxing professional and it was clear there was a potential superstar in the making.
Notching up a considerable 23 wins and 20 KO’s, in 2008 Kirkland took on Brian Vera in his toughest test up to that point. A great performance from Kirkland, he eventually boxed his way to an 8th round TKO showing some real class against a good opponent.
Kirkland’s next bout was in March 2009; a 6th round TKO victory over Joel Julio however just a month after this his troubles outside the ring began.
On April 19th, Kirkland was arrested for possession of a firearm. Kirkland spent time on probation and in September the same year was sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to the firearm charges.
A year later in September, 2010, Kirkland was released from jail however spent several months in a halfway house in Texas.
Six months on and James Kirkland’s long awaited return to the ring was here. The “Mandingo Warrior” dispatched of his opponent Ahsandi Gibbs in a stylish manor with a first round KO and in a bid to make up for lost time has two proposed dates to box consecutively.
The first of the two dates is this Saturday 18th and the latter, April 9th on the undercard of Marcos Maidana – Erik Morales.
It would appear Kirkland’s sole aim is to launch himself back into the mainstream with a few impressive victories and get everybody talking about him again.
There is always a risk when taking fights so close together but you have to feel Kirkland has it well within his armory to put on a couple more decent performances and earn himself a big fight at the end of this year.
Before all of Kirkland’s troubles he looked like a fantastic prospect. People tend to overlook that he is only 26 years of age. His professional record of 26 wins and 23 of them KO’s is truly superb for his age and it looks set to be 28 within the next month.
I have always been won over by this mans power and athleticism inside the ring. Although you would expect it from a Light Middleweight Kirkland is always in fantastic shape and shows professionalism when he has the gloves on.
He has belief and determination and, matched with his Boxing ability I believe it will only be a matter of months before we are seeing this guy in a big Title fight.
On Saturday in his comeback fight Kirkland made light work of Gibbs. It was built up to be a test for Kirkland but most knew this was unlikely.
Although a very quick fight it was a stylish performance from Kirkland and hey, you can’t blame him for getting his opponent outta’ there the way he did. He showed his usual quick hands and accuracy and matched with his power had Gibbs crashing to the canvas.
It is good to see Kirkland back in the ring and I for one am an excited onlooker. If he comes through his next two bouts as intended you can expect a big fight towards the end of the year for the American.
In a division full of World class operators I truly believe he is one of those outsiders that can upset the odds. He has much potential and I can see him quietly going about his business but eventually getting everybody’s attention.
Of course Kirkland has age on his side and shouldn’t be in any rush for a Title but with such a good Boxing record and large number of fights people are expecting big things.
Having only recently come out of jail too, you can be certain this man will want to punch his way back to where he was before all of those troubles occurred.
Exciting times ahead for Kirkland.