Canelo Álvarez vs. James Kirkland was a professional boxing match contested on May 9, 2015.[2]
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| Date | May 9, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Álvarez wins by 3rd-round KO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editCanelo Álvarez, who was coming off a unanimous decision victory over Erislandy Lara in July 2014, had been looking for a new opponent to fight. His team had been negotiating with several potential opponents, including Miguel Cotto, but the talks had fallen through. Ultimately, the decision was made to face James Kirkland, who had been considered a dangerous opponent due to his punching power.[3]
In March, at the official press conference, the fight was announced to take place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on 9 May, live on HBO, a week after the 2 May fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao. It marked the first fight of Álvarez's lucrative HBO contract.[4]
The fight
editKirkland came out aggressively, but Álvarez wobbled him and scored a knockdown via straight right hand in round one. In the third round, a counter right uppercut sent Kirkland to the canvas. Álvarez ended the fight with a jab to the body quickly followed by the right hand, creating the KO. Álvarez landed 87 of 150 punches thrown (58%) and Kirkland landed 42 of 197 (21%).[5][6][7][8]
Aftermath
editAfter the bout, Kirkland said, "I did not know I was knocked out." He was then taken to hospital to undergo a CT scan.
The fight drew an average of 2.146 million viewers on HBO and peaked at 2.296 million, the highest viewership for HBO in 2015.[9]
Undercard
editConfirmed bouts:[10]
Broadcasting
edit| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Australia |
Main Event |
 Hungary |
Sport 1 |
| Latin America | Canal Space |
 Mexico |
Azteca |
 Panama |
RPC |
 Russia |
BoxingTV |
 United Kingdom |
BoxNation |
 United States |
HBO |
References
edit- ^ Allan Fox (10 May 2015). "Kirkland's Purse $1.3 Million, Canelo At Least $3.5 Million". boxingnews24.com. Boxing News 24. Archived from the original on 31 May 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Saul Alvarez vs. James Kirkland". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Saul Alvarez expects tough test from James Kirkland". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Canelo Alvarez v James Kirkland – Fight Announcement". Getty Images. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ "Saul Alvarez beats James Kirkland with third-round knockout". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ Dan Rafael (10 May 2015). "Canelo Alvarez defeats James Kirkland via third-round KO". .espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ Associated Press (9 May 2015). "Canelo Alvarez defeats James Kirkland with highlight-reel knockout". theguardian.com. Houston: The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ Bryan Armen Graham (9 May 2015). "Canelo Alvarez v James Kirkland – as it happened". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Cotto numbers set stage for giant PPV with Canelo". ESPN.com. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ "BoxRec - event".