By James Slater: James Kirkland sure is being moved fast on his out-of-jail comeback to boxing. The exciting, unbeaten and seemingly unstoppable 27-year-old southpaw returned to the ring on March 5th, after serving time for gun possession, then he was back in the ring a mere 13 days later.
Improving to 27-0(24) overall, Kirkland scored quick, back-to-back KO’s over the overmatched pair that was Ashandi Gibbs and Jhon Berrio. Now, according to Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer (who spoke to ESPN’s Dan Rafael), the red-hot light-middleweight contender will take a step up in class in the comeback, as he will face former interim WBA 154-pound champion Nobuhiro Ishida of Japan on the under-card of the April 9th Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales card in Las Vegas.
A good test for Kirkland at any stage of his career, the 35-year-old from Osaka has a good 22-6-2(7) record and, perhaps most importantly, he has never been stopped as a pro. Tall for the weight at 6’1,” Ishida’s recent form hasn’t been too bad. He won the interim WBA belt in August of 2009, with a points win over Marco Antonio Avendano, and Ishida then one retention; a UD over Oney Valdez that December. Then, in his most recent fight, in October of last year, Ishida lost the strap to Rigoberto Alvarez via a split decision loss in Mexico.
If the Japanese fighter’s ambition remains strong he could give the rust-removing Kirkland a hard night’s work. Certainly it is unlikely Ishida will go as quickly as Kirkland’s last two victims. Maybe a points win will actually suit the world title-hunting Texan known as “The Mandingo Warrior.” In need of rounds as he slowly gets his weight down before his seemingly inevitable title shot, Kirkland may get them on April 9th.
Aside from the points loss in Mexico, Ishida has never boxed outside of Japan. How the older man copes under the bright lights in his Las Vegas debut may well become a factor in the outcome of the fight that is scheduled for eight-rounds. The visitor is no big puncher (just those 7 KO’s), but as we know, Kirkland is a hard-hitter. It’s possible a fast, explosive start from Kirkland will overwhelm Ishida, but if he can get into his groove, the former interim titlist may be able to test Kirkland.
Of course, it would be a huge upset if Ishida won, but Kirkland deserves credit for not going in with a “softy.” This particular supporting bout may well prove interesting and entertaining.