KO of the Midyear Consensus: Canelo vs. Kirkland
Well hmmm… There was this one time Canelo Alvarez nearly put James Kirkland in a body bag with a hammering right hand.
In fact, my chin hurts just thinking about it, so I will pick that.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland came at the perfect time, directly after the outhouse stench that Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao left us with.
Canelo had Kirkland badly hurt almost from the very beginning, dropping him hard in the first round with a right hand that he never really recovered from.
Finally in the third round, Canelo corkscrewed Kirkland into the canvas with a gorgeous right cross. It was a brilliant one-punch KO, solidifying Canelo’s spot as one of the biggest stars in the sport.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
This is an easy one. Canelo Alvarez’s second-round beat down of James Kirkland. That was as brutal as it gets.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Leann Perez, Staff Writer
Round 5 through Round 5 looked like Terence Crawford was having some slight difficulty with Thomas Dulorme. Really, he was just taking his time, picking apart his opponent in his head, and waiting to demolish Dulorme.
In Round 6, Crawford came out the corner with his game plan intact. Crawford applied massive pressure, landed devastating over hand rights, and threw endless punches knocking Dulorme down three times in Round 6 alone.
Finally, after being attacked against the ropes, Dulorme went down again and the ref waved off the fight. The victory gave Crawford his second WBO championship, this time at 140 pounds.
Pick: Terence Crawford vs. Thomas Dulorme
Brandon Glass, Contributing Writer
Canelo Alvarez swung the right hook like a baseball bat, hitting James Kirkland flush on the jaw.
Kirkland went limp, collapsing before stretching out and hitting the back of his head violently as it slapped the canvas. I thought he might be dead.
It was reminiscent of what Manny Pacquiao did to Ricky Hatton, or what Juan Manuel Marquez did to Pacquiao.
Thankfully, Kirkland was okay enough to give a slurred post-fight interview.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Yazket Espino, Staff Writer
An impressive one-punch knockout that seemed to leave James Kirkland lifeless on the mat.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Mike Burnell, Staff Writer
Dangerous punching James Kirkland came out fast in the first round hoping to give Canelo Alvarez a chin check. Alvarez showedpatience weathering the early attack and soon turned Kirkland’s aggressive attack against him, hurting him badly and dropping him.
Alvarez redefined the term “dropping him heavily” in the 3rd round when he feinted to the body and came over the top with a massive right hand that dropped Kirkland to the canvas as though he was boneless.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Nothing was as exciting and jaw-dropping as the punch that sent James Kirkland to the canvas. The setup was so beautiful–a short jab to the body followed by a night-ending sledgehammer right.
Boxing is brutal, and nothing encompasses that like a vicious knockout. It would be totally wrong not to give two other guys some props here as well; Artur Beterbiev for his Drago style KO of Gabriel Campillo and Alexander Povetkin for his drubbing of Mike Perez.
Pick: Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland
Other Nominees
