According to Dan Rafael, James Kirkland has been arrested on weapons charges.
Kirkland, 25, who is on probation for a 2003 armed robbery that cost him 2½ years of his career, was arrested during a traffic stop in his hometown of Austin, Texas, and booked Sunday afternoon. He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Travis County Sherriff's Department Web site.
Whether Kirkland (25-0, 22 KOs) will be available to fight May 2 is unclear.
"It appears that James is the victim of circumstance and we're waiting for the facts to come in before we make any comment," Cameron Dunkin, Kirkland's co-manager, told ESPN.com
If there's merit to the charges, it would be a real shame. Kirkland has been one of the more exciting young fighters recently, and while he does have a checkered past, he's managed to stay out of trouble while focusing on his career. The bad part is that, since he's still on probation, his punishment would be more severe if he's convicted.
[Note by Brickhaus, 04/20/09 6:19 PM EDT ] This is a third-degree felony under Texas law, meaning 2 - 10 years in prison if convicted. Also, it's come out that the gun was in his car, so there's always the question of whether it was actually his. It's a little harder to convict under those facts than if the gun was found on his person.