Angulo-Kirkland: FINAL predictions

Cool. It caught my eye and I was just wondering.

 

Is that Mendoza in yours?? He had skills.. Not 1981 skills, but close.

 

Yup, good catch.

I like to promote the natural dominance of the Jewish athlete.

It's too bad. Nowadays all the best Jewish athletes become Mossad agents and Entertainment publicists.

Not as many gyms in Jerusalem and Manhattan as there used to be. :nono:

 

Well, there is more than an element of truth to that ::

I'd love to see Max Kellerman in a pair of white shorts with a blue star of David on them, being chased through down-town Bethlehem by an enraged mob all wearing Kostya Tszyu t-shirts. :laugh11:

 

You sir, are a decent fellow. A very fair post without excuse-making.

I actually don't think Angulo looked average, as odd as that sounds. The way he dropped Kirkland early was technically beautiful. Despite the loss, I think Angulo is a technically better fighter than Kirkland. But Angulo then proceeded to fight as if it was going to be easy, got sloppier, fought in closer than he needed to, allowed himself to get trapped on the ropes, etc. And that's how he got hurt. Following being hurt (don't remember if it was an uppercut or whatever), he slowed down big time. Looked like he never fully recovered. It was a bit scary how "exhausted" Angulo looked so early on from the damage the head shots did to him. I hope he is all right.

As far as the Ishida fight, the only reason I did not give it much weight here was because everything about it was different than the Angulo fight. Had Kirkland just lost to a tough, classic Mexican-style fighter in brutal fashion, I would have seen the Angulo matchup differently.

With Kirkland, any rangy fighter with a good jab who can simply keep him at bay is going to give him nightmares. Kirkland must plow his way in close, and he really only has a great chance against fighters who cannot or will not try to keep him at a distance.

James Kirkland has heart, and he can punch. He clearly works hard and is invested in winning. But if he truly wants to be a champion, and win high-level fights for any length of time, he has got to learn to box at least enough to work his way in on fighters who will know how to keep him outside. Just running in almost got him KO'd against Angulo.... if he does that against other solid fighters, he is going to end up flat on his back repeatedly. He should seriously watch early Tyson tapes and get that sort of up-jab going with a lot of head and torso movement so he can get inside where he is extremely effective.

 

That won't happen.

1. Kirkland doesnt have a fraction of Mike's talent.

2. Cus instilled those skills in Mike when Mike was a teenager. Kirkland is 27 years old, he aint gonna change.

3. Mike was taught those skills by fuckin Cus D'Amato! Anne Wolfe can't teach Kirkland a damn thing. She can only get him into great condition.

Kirkland is what he is. He'll never be an elite fighter, but he's exciting as hell. So just enjoy him for what he is.

 

I figured when faced with a guy as slow as Angulo, Kirkland would be able to resort to boxing and moving. He can't. I was wrong. His survival instinct is nil right now and it appears that when hurt he will only move forward and try to fight through any adversity.

As slow as Angulo is, however, he isn't as slow as the guy who we saw fight for 5+ rounds last night. Round 1 scenarios aren't all that uncommon in boxing. A knockdown followed by overexertion followed by losing by ko...that's what happens in a lot of club boxing/toughman fights. Usually, when you see that shit in an upper-level pro boxing match, the guy who punches himself out is usually taken out or he manages to get back into the fight if he isn't taken out because pro boxers are so ridiculously conditioned that they can recoup. Angulo, otoh, looked like a regular person, i.e. toughman, who has punched himself out and won't be able to have any snap on his punches until the next day.

Angulo should be favored in a rematch, I think. I also think that Canelo Alvarez will beat Kirkland. Alvarez is a far more relaxed, natural fighter and Kirkland is just too easy to hit for that type of fighter. Kirkland is going to have a chance because he's a very good offensive fighter with very good power. But even against a zombie, Kirkland wasn't able to land the coup de grace. That would be fine if he had gone into patience mode, but he was in full attack mode the entire time.

Alvarez, Martinez, Chavez...these guys should be looking for an HBO payday to fight Kirkland.

 

Good picks Barristan, REED and myself

I still dont understand how so many people continue to put ultimate stock in quick KOs, rather than observing the actual qualities of fighters, when making predictions.

 

Kellermans commentary wouldn't be found on a playstation game......

"they will be talking about this round for years".....{silence}.....::

 

i enjoyed hearing the hbo crew boast about kirklands amazing stamina in round 2 of the fight.

 

Well, he'd just ABSORBED a Tremendous Asswhipping While Approaching the 100 (or More) Punch Mark, SIMULTANEOUSLY...Conditioning is what WON the Fight for Kirkland...Conditioning Also Seems to B a Factor in Kirkland's Overall PUNCH RESISTANCE, as Well...

Angulo & Ishida are "Four Score AND Seven Years" APART, in Terms of Punching Power....The ONLY Explanation for the Increase in Kirkland's Durability is CONDITIONING...UNLIKE Ishida, Angulo Dropped Kirkland then UNLOADED On him, Going for the KILL...Ishida Simply WAITED, Allowed Kirkland to Continue Initiating Exchanges, & COUNTERED...

By All Rights, if Kirkland's Beard is as BAD as it Looked vs. Ishida, he SHOULD have Been KO'ed in the 1st by Angulo, who Actually Hit Kirkland HARDER & w/MORE Shots....

REED:dancingBaby:

 

kirkland was obviously in much better shape and more well prepared for angulo than ishida. impressive win for him, and i hope to see him against the other top 54lbers

 

Yup, five minutes in - "LOOK AT KIRKLAND'S STAMINA!"

I switched to HBO Latino at that point.

Watching the replay, that was quite possibly the worst broadcast ever. From content to technical issues to the visual giving the fight a Telemundo feel - thank goodness the fight was what it was.

 

Same here, although my pick was based on a combo the Ishida fight, his lack of defense or a formidable chin and not looking like anything even in his four comeback wins. Kirkland stepped up big time for this fight, though, and made me eat my words and then some.

 

I've rooted for Kirkland in every fight he's been in. Even though he did indeed step up a lot i can't help but feel it's just a matter of time before the words he made people eat, will once again become true. Maybe even his next fight.

Somewhat like Victor Ortiz. (everybody give me a moment before saying how the fuck can you compare those two!? issed:)

After the Maidana fight a lot of people were on his case as not having the heart of a fighter. The Berto fight comes along and things changed quite a bit. Suddenly he was a warrior. The Maidana fight was a complete anomaly. "He learned from it" He goes up against Mayweather in the biggest fight of his life and bitches out again.

Now, i'm not saying Kirkland is weak in the way Ortiz is. He's proven his mettle before Angulo.

It's a similar trajectory but for different reasons.

Ortiz went from prospect to heartless to warrior and back to heartless.

Kirkland went from prospect to vulnerable to warrior to ...

I think he's back to being vulnerable.

 

It's weird, I never really cared for Kirkland and generally liked Angulo (wasn't a huge fan but like watching his fights), yet I found myself rooting for Kirkland as the fight grew closer.

One of those fights where I was happy to be wrong (like Pac-Barrera I) and all through fight week my gut told me that I was wrong, but never had the sense to reconsider my pick and kept flashing back to his getting blitzed by that pillow fist.

 

And I know what you mean in your comparison. It's a valid one, even if different scenarios.

 

:bears:

 

:: I had the same gut feeling. It came after reading your piece. I was, however, too cowardly to change my official pick.

 

Jake's piece, coupled by the realization that Angulo wasn't an active boxer.

Then I saw him sitting in his dressing room pre-fight, looking all flabby and lazy.

 

Yeah, it kind of makes me think about Angulo.

At the end of the fight it looked like Kirkland knocked Angulo off the big kids bus and onto the short bus. I was really worried, still am a bit.

Then you realize he was never that bright looking to begin with. If I was Angulo I would have knocked the fuck out, whatever handler of his thought "The Dog" would be a great nickname............oh, and we're gonna make you wear a giant fucking belt buckle around your neck every time you do your ringwalk.

No, no Alfredo. It doesn't make you look like a piece of meat we're going to cash in on before we send you out to be killed in the ring..........I swear. :Alabama:

 

Could this be the fight that the most people got wrong?

 

YEAH i W AS WRONG DEAD WRONG SO WHAT "FAGGOT!!!"-cdogg

 

:l2:

 

*REED Quietly POPS his Collar & Vanishes*




REEDopcorn:

 

:scared::scared::scared:

 

::