Canelo Alvarez is the favorite to defeat James Kirkland on May 9 in Houston, Texas despite Kirkland's 28 knockout victories and reputation as one of the hardest punchers at 154 pounds. Veteran trainer Ronnie Shields is giving Kirkland more of a shot than Las Vegas oddsmakers.
"Canelo is in a lot of danger in that fight, he's fighting a puncher," Shields, the trainer for Erislandy Lara when he fought Alvarez, said. "James Kirkland is no slouch, no matter who he fights James Kirkland is going to be in the fight. Here is the thing that I think is going to hurt James Kirkland-he doesn't have Ann Wolfe in his corner. Ann Wolfe knows how to motivate him, she knows what's good for him and what's bad for him."
Kirkland is 32-1-0 with those 28 knockouts, and the only loss of his career came without Wolfe in his corner. Kirkland was shockingly knocked out in Round 1 of what was supposed to be a showcase fight against Nobuhiro Ishida in 2011.
Since that loss, Kirkland has won five straight fights. Four of those wins were by knockout, while the fifth was earned by disqualification when Carlos Molina's corner entered the ring in Round 10 before it ended. Molina had been knocked down in the 10th.
Shields also said he has concerns about Alvarez's ability to go deep into fights, while Kirkland is known for his stamina.
"The problem that I know James is going to have is losing the weight. Canelo has the same problem of losing the weight, but at the same time I know Kirkland has a lot of stamina and Canelo doesn't. So if Kirkland can stand up to Canelo's punches early, Kirkland is going to be in the fight late and I think the later the fight goes it's going to be better for James Kirkland."
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