James Kirkland Stops Alfredo Angulo

Photo Courtesy of HO Boxing

By Randy De La O

As anticipated, Saturday night's fight on HBO between Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo and James Kirkland, in Cancun, Mexico, was a real barn burner. Kirkland immediately took the fight to Angulo and thirty seconds into the round he was dropped and hurt by a right hand.  Angulo looking to finish Kirkland never stopped punching. He should have, or at least stepped back a bit and been a little more selective with his punches.

So sure was Angulo of a first round KO victory that he punched himself out. You could almost see it coming. Many of the shots missed their mark. Near the end of the round Angulo was knocked down, almost as much from exhaustion as from Kirkland's punches.

In the second round Angulo's legs were unsteady and his punching lacked any real zip. It was the beginning of the end for Angulo as Kirkland, 100% back in the fight, dominated the rest of the fight. Angulo was taking a beating. You got the sense that both fighters were willing to die in the ring. When the referee stopped the fight in the sixth round, it was unchallenged. It was a great, hard fought victory for Jame Kirkland. He attributed his win to his hard training and preparation. It gives credence to the old boxing adage, "Fights are won and lost in the gym". Regardless of the outcome both men proved their mettle Saturday.