This Friday night, James Kirkland will once again step between the ropes of the squared circle with hopes of inflicting a Texas-sized amount of pain upon the tough as nails Allen Conyers. The bout will take place at Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, CA and will be the featured fight on Showtime's long running ShoBox series.
For Kirkland, a survivor of the hole of despair that is the east side of Austin, Texas, fighting is a cathartic release from the pain and agony he experienced growing up. It was a childhood that none would wish upon their most hated rival. Food stamps, struggles for the bare necessities that the civilized world often takes for granted, such an environment hardens the very soul of its inhabitants often to the point were ones morals become realigned in the vain attempt for survival.
Kirkland thought he had found a road out of his poverty stricken life, creating an avenue to prosperity by using his two greatest assets: his street-forged toughness and his dynamite-infused fists. It was little surprise to those in the neighborhood that Kirkland would become a fighter; after all, he had been honing his craft in the ghettos of east Austin since he could walk.
Unfortunately, like many who have tried to escape skid row's icy grip, Kirkland hit a stumbling block in his career when he was incarcerated for armed robbery in 2003. "I was with the wrong crowd and I was trying to get some money", Kirkland states matter-of-factly.
With the birth of his son, James Jr., came a rebirth of sorts for Kirkland who, upon his release, rededicated himself to his pugilistic pursuits. Esteemed manager Cameron Dunkin was brought into the fold. He splits managerial duties with Michael Miller, a San Antonio-based attorney who was instrumental in getting Kirkland out of a contractual bind with Duva Boxing, thus enabling the fighter to sign on with Gary Shaw Productions. Long time trainer Pops Billingsley shares duties with one of Kirkland's closest confidants, Ann Wolfe.
The pairing of Kirkland and Wolfe was a natural one given the shared background of two of Austin's toughest residents. The bond is that of brother and sister with Wolfe playing the nurturing older sister driven to keep Kirkland on track. "He's like my brother. He is truly 100% like my brother. When I came to the gym, he was 12 years old. The olny coach we have ever had is pops. Then I started doing his conditiong. The way we train, we spar with 20oz gloves. We hit the bag with 20oz gloves. When we spar, we like it's a fight. All the kids I have in the gym fight like that."
Such is Wolfe's dedication to James that she has been known to adorn headgear herself to spar with him, a fact she adimts is not ideal, but made necesarry by the lack of quality sparring partners in Austin as well as many peoples adversian to sparring with Kirkland due to his no-holds barred approach to training.
"Nobody will spar with him in Texas," Kirklands co-manager Michael Miller states.
It is no secret that the lack of quality help has prompted Kirkland to look towards the hub of boxing west of the Mississippi - Southern Californa.
Kirkland and Wolfe first made the journey some months ago prior to his bout with Mohammad Said. It was a pivitol moment in Krikland's young career. For the first time, he was getting in quality gym work. The results spoke for themselves when he blew out Said, needing only two rounds to accomplish the feat. It was a stark contrast to his previous fight with Ossie Duran in which Kirkland seemed out of shape and lethargic, leaving many to question his dedication to the sport outside of the ring.
For his impending bout with offensive-minded Allen Conyers, Kirkland once again headed west, landing in the mecca of west coast boxing, Freddie Roach's Wild Card Gym. Working with Eduardo and Roberto Garica, two noted boxing fixtures out in Southern Californa, Kirkland and crew took a "have gloves, will travel" approach, touring some of SoCal's finest fighter factories looking for decent work.
Then, about a month ago, Kirkland and company inexplicably packed up shop and returned to Austin. This head scratching move seemed to be perplexing, but, accroding to Miller, the reason was simply because Kirkland wanted to finish training camp in Austin.
The fact still remains that Kirkland will be facing a more dangerous threat on Frinday in the likes of Allen Conyers, a native of the Bronx and a former New York state welterweight champion. "I have had some time off and I am hungry for another victory," Conyers would state in a recent press release. "It is going to be a good fight because Kirkland and I are both hard punchers. The fans are in for a treat."
"This is another huge opportunity for me and a tough fight," said Kirkland. "Conyers is a really dangerous opponent so it should be an entertaining fight. I am ready to show the country that I am the real deal."
Real deal or complete bust, the results have yet to be seen, but one should never discount the heart of a fighter with the singular focus of making a better life for himself and his family. For it is that drive that leads Kirkland into battle were the man of few words prefers to let his fists do the talking and, so far, they have resonated loud an clear.