By James Slater: Ultra-exciting light-middleweight contender James Kirkland is set to be back in action against a TBA on the Amir Khan-Zab Judah card on July 23rd. Now back with ace trainer Ann Wolfe and also one win removed from his shock loss to Japan’s Nobuhiro Ishida, the 27-year-old southpaw is climbing back up to the promising position he recently held.
With Wolf’s expert, heartfelt guidance, the power-punching Texan can be expected to give his best as he regroups. Ann herself says her charge can definitely become champion one day; if only he does what needs to be done. It’s up to James, Ann says – as she explained in the following interview she was kind enough to give me earlier today.
Here is what Ann had to say on the subject of the 28-1(25) Kirkland:
James Slater: I really appreciate your time in speaking to me, Ann. First of all, James Kirkland is back with you now and he got a 1st-round win over Dennis Sharpe recently. Were you happy with the win or did you want James to get more rounds?
Ann Wolfe: I don’t care if it’s a one-second fight when we fight. We can, and we do, get rounds in the gym. I’m always happy when my fighter gets it over with as soon as possible. I don’t care what anyone says; any fighter can be dangerous. Dennis Sharpe has two hands just like James does. It’s guys like Sharpe that scare me. With the top guys, you know what they can do. With a guy like Sharpe, who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, you never know what he’s capable of.
J.S: Is James back on the July 23rd, Khan-Judah card? Is that a definite?
A.W: Yes, he will be fighting then. They’re still looking for an opponent.
J.S: Is James a middleweight now, has he left the 154-pound division behind him?
A.W: No, he can still make light-middleweight. He came in at 158 and he’s still a junior-middleweight. But we’re not going to take him down too fast, we’re going to do it gradually – ease him back down.
J.S: The big news story was when you two got back together. Do you feel that will make all the difference with James’ career?
A.W: It’ll make some difference, but Golden Boy have done their part as well. But James, for the first time, has to prove himself – and I have to also for the first time. Never before have either of us had to prove ourselves. We came from the streets, basically eating trash, so whatever success we had it was an achievement – whatever we did, however many fights we won, it was a big accomplishment. I can tell James to do this and to do that, but he has to prove himself to his fans now – the people that matter; who pay to see him. It’s not about whether or not he has a chin, or can he keep out of trouble – people can say what they want on the blogs. It’s just about James proving himself to his fans.
J.S: It was a real shock, one of the upsets of the year, when James lost to Nobihura Ishida…..
A.W: It wasn’t a shock to me.
J.S: Really?
A.W: I tell every fighter I work with: If you don’t enter a fight thinking there is a possibility you can get your ass kicked, if you don’t understand that, you shouldn’t be fighting. Every fight is fifty/fifty; there is one winner and there is one loser. I never call any result an upset. Every fighter has a chance to win.
J.S: Would you advise James to take a rematch with Ishida?
A.W: I say he should; because he’s the only one to have beaten him. If Ishida loses three or four fights, then it wouldn’t pay us to fight him again. But if he wins a couple of big fights and if James wins some fights, then it’s a perfect fight.
J.S: Why do you think James lost in April?
A.W: I don’t think he was in shape. He was fat. He came down here to the gym, and for the first ten days he was getting his ass whupped. That’s why – point blank. He was not in shape. So now, there are two things that can happen with a fighter who get’s KO’d – he either gets better or he gets worse. This is what we have to prove now. James can either become more vicious or he can become worse. The thing is, James is so strong. People call him reckless, but when he’s on your chest, it’s hard to catch him because he’ll punch you with a bunch of stuff from the left side as you try and unload. He tried to box against Ishida and he isn’t a boxer. With me in the corner against Ishida – I’d have him in top shape, and I’d have him using more head movement as he gets on his chest. I had two T.V’s next to each other: one of the Ishida fight, the other of the Sharpe fight. And James didn’t throw any shots for near to two-minutes in the Ishida fight. In the Sharpe fight he threw everything.
J.S: Is the plan now for James to stay busy and then maybe next year go back in with the top-ten guys?
A.W: I think he’s ready after this one and then one more, and then step up against the real good guys.
J.S: And James is one of the most exciting fighters out there; can he become a world champion?
A.W: I am 100-percent sure James is capable of becoming a world champion. Whether he does so or not, it is up to James. It’s only up to him.