James Kirkland to return to the ring December 11
Middleweight prospect James Kirkland (25-0, 22 KOs), recently released from prison, will be fighting for the first time in over a year on 11 December on the Amir Khan-Marcos Maidana undercard as reported
by Dan Rafael and others.
An opponent has yet to be named. The bout will take place at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. It will receive a significant amount of attention in the boxing world, being included with
one of the most hyped fights of the year.
Kirkland, 26, hasn’t fought since devastating Joel Julio in six rounds back in March 2009. He was incarcerated shortly thereafter for being caught with a firearm after a previous felony prohibited him
from doing so.
Though he has fought at junior middleweight for the duration of his career, Kirkland reportedly weighed 170 pounds in prison. This may mean he will have to fight at middleweight or even super middleweight
depending on what he can lose. Should he be forced to move up in weight, it could alter his performance significantly.
Initially Kirkland was expected to return to the ring on 6 November, in the untelevised portion of Zab Judah’s HBO bout with Lucas Matthysse. This proved impossible when he was force to remain in jail
longer than expected, since the halfway house accepting him thereafter had to wait for placement openings.
Cameron Dunkin, Kirkland’s manager, said: "We're not going to push him. There's no reason to push it. We'll go ahead and have him fight in December and make sure he's right. There's no reason to rush
it."
A question on many peoples’ minds is whether or not Kirkland will remain under the tutelage of trainer Ann Wolfe. The two had a major falling out at the time of Kirkland’s incarceration. Should they
decide to part ways, Wolfe will still be entitled to 7.5 per cent interest on Kirkland’s management contract.
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