kirkland wins again

Kirkland crushes Berrio

By Rocco Morales at ringside

Unbeaten middleweight James Kirkland (27-0, 24 KOs) continued his reign of terror scoring a second round KO over Jhon Berrio (15-9, 11 KOs) on Friday night at the Hangar at OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California. Kirkland found himself, surprisingly, in a real fight in the first round and was even stunned a couple times by his Colombian opponent. However, after Kirkland landed a hard body shot a minute into the second round, the fight went out of Berrio and he took a knee from a mystery punch and was counted out by the referee. Time was 1:05. Matchmaker Eric Gomez of Golden Boy Promotions was upset with the effort, or lack thereof, by Berrio and instructed the California State Athletic Commission that he wished for them to withhold his purse pending further review. Kirkland will return to action for the third time in as many months on April 09th as he works his way back into title contention following his two year layoff.

I get that James has alot of pent up aggression from being in the joint, but wouldn't it be wise to go the distance to get some rounds under the belt ?

going rounds. Depends on their strategy If they plan on having him step up in his 3rd or 4th fight then it may be a problem

. My strategy for him would have been 4 tune ups. From total bum (which we saw) up to journeyman. Then a fringe guy (just outside top 10). He'd get some rounds in as the competition level increased.

The thing that hasn't changed is Kirkland being relatively easy to hit. Adams needs to teach him some defense. His search and destroy style will eventually spell doom against top 5 guys as he is rumored to not have a great chin (I remember reading somewhere he was down before and he doesn't take shots that well).

Kirkland nowhere near what he used to be

Look bigger (fat) and slow

GBP better be careful how fast they move him

gomez1012 wrote:Kirkland nowhere near what he used to be

Look bigger (fat) and slow

GBP better be careful how fast they move him

He is weighing in 10 pounds heavier. 162 or 163 instead of 153 or so. They are going to bring his weight down and get into better shape as he gets back into it.

I still don't think he goes that far, unless he learns defense. He wasn't the hardest person to hit before (and he hadn't faced any top competition). Against top guys, he is going to have issues if he is still getting hit cleanly.

Confused by talk by guys like Kellerman, mentioning Kirkland as a potential opponent for Sergio martinez when he has never beat a top 10 guy

Beating guys like Ossie Duran, Mohammad Said, Allen Conyers, Ermosele Albert, Ricardo Cortes, Brian Vera, and Joel Julio, then going to jail for 2 years doesn't prepare you for an elite P4P guy. All it proves is you can beat journeyman and some guys who are more like top 20-30 instead of top 10.

Yea Captain, even vs the average MW division I think he struggles big time

He looked soft, with worse defense, and not as much aggression as before

Not trying to knock the guy just comparing him to what he was

gomez1012 wrote:Kirkland nowhere near what he used to be

Look bigger (fat) and slow

GBP better be careful how fast they move him

I say give him 6 months and he is back to what he was.

gomez1012 wrote:Yea Captain, even vs the average MW division I think he struggles big time

He looked soft, with worse defense, and not as much aggression as before

Not trying to knock the guy just comparing him to what he was

he is going down to junior middle. We really have no idea what he was. He never really faced a top guy in his first go round.

Soonermark890 wrote:
I say give him 6 months and he is back to what he was.

W/out Anne Wolfe I dont see that happening...

Wasnt he calling out Martinez Captain?
Is that the plan, Jr MW?

Kirkland is ducking Rhodes!

gomez1012 wrote:

Soonermark890 wrote:
I say give him 6 months and he is back to what he was.

W/out Anne Wolfe I dont see that happening...

Wasnt he calling out Martinez Captain?
Is that the plan, Jr MW?

his new trainer is Ken Adams who has trained somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 world champs. Lack of a good trainer isn't one of his problems.

His plan is to go to 154. The problem I see is defense. Kirkland doesn't seem to like getting hit. It is rumored that his chin is a little shaky. But he doesn't do alot to keep from getting hit. That is fine against the caliber of guys he has faced. But what happens when he faces someone damn good that can bang.

He better work on some defense.

I'm not as excited about Kirkland as everyone else seems to be, he has an undefeated record but the only notable fighter he's faced has been Joel Julio. I had to laugh when I heard this fool had called out Sergio Martinez, I hope he gets his wish, Martinez would destroy this clown, as would most of the other "elite" Jr. Middleweights and Middleweights.

Ring wrote:I'm not as excited about Kirkland as everyone else seems to be, he has an undefeated record but the only notable fighter he's faced has been Joel Julio. I had to laugh when I heard this fool had called out Sergio Martinez, I hope he gets his wish, Martinez would destroy this clown, as would most of the other "elite" Jr. Middleweights and Middleweights.

I'm not ready to call him a clown but he doesn't need to call out elite junior middles or middles. You have to beat a top 10 guy before even thinking about calling out elite guys.

Good to hear from you Ring. You weren't around for FNF and yesterday's fights. Hope life has been treating you well.

captainanddew wrote:

gomez1012 wrote:Yea Captain, even vs the average MW division I think he struggles big time

He looked soft, with worse defense, and not as much aggression as before

Not trying to knock the guy just comparing him to what he was

he is going down to junior middle. We really have no idea what he was. He never really faced a top guy in his first go round.

Well said. I was excited about Kirkland the FIRST time he was on the scene and was ready for him to start stepping it up to see if he could hang at the next level. He still has a TON to prove and MILES to go to get into world title talk.

captainanddew wrote:

Ring wrote:I'm not as excited about Kirkland as everyone else seems to be, he has an undefeated record but the only notable fighter he's faced has been Joel Julio. I had to laugh when I heard this fool had called out Sergio Martinez, I hope he gets his wish, Martinez would destroy this clown, as would most of the other "elite" Jr. Middleweights and Middleweights.

I'm not ready to call him a clown but he doesn't need to call out elite junior middles or middles. You have to beat a top 10 guy before even thinking about calling out elite guys.

Good to hear from you Ring. You weren't around for FNF and yesterday's fights. Hope life has been treating you well.

Thanks Capt, I've been on a 'working' vacation down in South Texas this past week, I was able to get a little saltwater trout & red fishing in, and go for some 5 mile walks on the Padre Island beaches there, it's was really relaxing.

As for Kirkland, he's got a lot to prove, and unless I see something different in him this year, I can't see him hangin' with the top dogs.