On Saturday, knockout artist James Kirkland returns to the squared circle.
Kirkland will be battling hard-hitting Juan Macias Montiel in a 10-round middleweight co-main event of our Premier Boxing Champions fight card.
James Kirkland fights again on Saturday on the PBC card. Man, if he could have kept his life together a little more, he would have had a long run as a headliner. That fight against Angulo was incredible.
— adam abramowitz (@snboxing) December 22, 2020
The event will be aired on FOX (7 pm CT) from the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in LA.
Kirkland (34-2, 30 KOs) has made a name for himself as one of the most exciting and explosive fighters in the sport in a long career that’s only seen him defeated twice.
The 36-year-old returned to the ring in 2019 with two knockout victories, his first action since losing to Canelo Alvarez in 2015.
James Kirkland fight week! #boxing 🥊 pic.twitter.com/85GH51HRsR
— Barney Gumble (@IronFist1982) December 22, 2020
“Pressure is a blessing,” said Kirkland. “I can’t wait to go in there on December 26 to display all my skills and put on a great performance for all the fans watching.”
Kirkland is looking to continue his comeback with a decisive win over Montiel. It is imperative to take the next step towards proving that he still has what it takes to compete with the champions at middleweight.
James Kirkland is taking on Juan Macias Montiel on the Fox main portion of this card starting at 8pm. I'm assuming that the winners of these two bouts will lead back to the original pre-pandemic matchup of Kirkland-Hernandez.
— Marquis Johns (@weaksauceradio) December 23, 2020
Kirkland sports an 83% knockout rate and has previously picked up notable wins against former champion Carlos Molina and Alfredo Angulo.
The 26-year-old Montiel (21-4-2, 21 KOs) steps back into the ring after his U.S. debut saw him fight Hugo Centeno Jr. to a split-draw on FS1 in December 2019.
Representing his native Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, Montiel had previously stopped Marco Reyes and Gustavo Castro to bounce back from a defeat to former champion Jaime Munguia in 2017.
“I know that a win on December 26 will catapult me into even bigger fights,” said Montiel. “I’ve prepared better than ever before leading up to this matchup. I’m more than ready to make the most of this tremendous opportunity.”
