Junior Middleweight prospect Joel “The Love Child” Julio has been training furiously for his Saturday, March 7th encounter with James Kirkland on HBO Boxing After Dark. He is now focused, ready and intends to give fight fans something to talk about. During his training at the Miami Fight Gym in Doral, Florida, Julio gave his sparring partners all they could handle. Among Julio’s sparring partners for the 10-round HBO co-feature was former IBF Light Middleweight champion, Kassim Ouma..
Julio trains under the watchful eye of Roberto Quesada. In the most spirited portion of Thursday’s pre-fight press conference Quesada threw some fuel on the fire by saying “I remember when Mike Tyson fought Evander Holyfield. Mike Tyson had strength, but Evander Holyfield had intelligence, and the intelligent fighter won. On Saturday, James Kirkland will have strength, but Joel Julio will have intelligence.”
Also helping him to prepare for the San Jose showdown is personal trainer Teddy Cruz, who helped Arturo Gatti move to the next level of fitness for his classic fights with Mickey Ward through the end of his storied career.
“Kirkland only has one style and that is to come forward,” said Julio. “I have demonstrated that I can box and I can also punch.” “I’ve had to face fighters better than Kirkland and with my hard work I’m sure I will beat him.” Julio added.
Weigh-in Results:
Light Middleweights, 10 Rounds – Kirkland 154 vs Julio 154
WBO NABO Light Welterweight Championship – NABF Light Welterweight Championship, 12 Rounds: Ortiz 140 vs Arnaoutis 140
WBO NABO Super Featherweight Championship, 12 Rounds – Guerrero 130 vs Yordan 130
Heavyweights, 6 Rounds -Jordan 220 vs Perryman 222
Heavyweights, 6 Rounds – Mitchell 254 vs Rabotte 251
Welterweights, 6 Rounds – Mayfield 147 1/2 vs Lozano 147
Super Featherweights, 6 Rounds – Perez 130 1/2 vs Garcia 130 1/2
Featherweights, 6 Rounds – Huerta 125 vs Ledesma 127 1/2
Lightweights, 6 Rounds – Ramos 136 vs Martinez 137