The search to find a
suitable dance partner for WBC junior middleweight titlist Saul “Canelo” Alvarez
on September 15th at the MGM Grand took another bizarre twist as
James Kirkland, who just a day or two ago was tabbed to replace Paul Williams,
was then scratched almost immediately from this assignment. Here was a tweet
from Steve Carp from the Las Vegas Review Journal (@stevecarprj):
“James Kirkland injured his
shoulder while training this a.m. and has pulled out of his Sept. 15 fight vs.
Canelo Alvarez at MGM in Vegas.”
But there are whispers that Kirkland
wasn't happy with the money he was to have received for that fight and that
there were people buzzing in his ear to seek a better deal. It just seemed
strange that a guy who wasn't supposed to even begin the boxing portion of his
preparation for this fight till the beginning of July suddenly reinjures his
right shoulder just a day or two after the deal is struck. Regardless, now the
search is on find a new(er) foe for “Canelo”- not named Erislandy Lara- for
this coveted date.
There's already lots of conjecture
about the winner of tonight's bout between WBA junior middleweight champion Austin
Trout and Delvin Rodriguez stepping in. The winner of the rematch between IBF junior
middleweight beltholder Cornelius Bundrage and Cory Spinks is also a
possibility. However, the problem with the latter two is they don't fight till
June 30th. Yeah, this card may seem cursed but trust me; it will
move forward. The question is, just who will televise it? Top Rank, it turns
out, has a hold on the pay-per-view slot for this date. But the word around the
industry is that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer has been in
discussions with both HBO and Showtime to bring this card to their
non-pay-per-view platforms.
Honestly, if you’re down to your third
opponent as the B-side, unless you're a Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather,
it's highly questionable as a pay-per-view event. But if you have “Canelo”
against a solid foe, such as Trout or Rodriguez (who will bring a belt) and an
opening feature of WBC featherweight titlist Jhonny Gonzalez versus Daniel
Ponce de Leon, it's a very good card on either of the premium cable networks.
