James Kirkland Hoping to Return in October or November, Canelo Needs Another New Opponent

For those who may have missed the news, James Kirkland has pulled out of his September 15 fight with Canelo Alvarez due to the shoulder injury that was just surgically repaired, a move that isn't a shock given that Kirkland's camp originally passed on the bout for this very reason, and Kirkland said last night on Leave it in the Ring Radio that he could still feel the injury when he was throwing his hands.

Last night, Kirkland sounded more optimistic than anything -- not really confident that the injury was healed. His advisers today have basically pulled him out, convinced him that right now, the fight is a bad idea. And it's hard to argue.

Here's what manager Cameron Dunkin told BoxingScene.com:

"He called me this morning and told me that he worked out last night and his shoulder felt funny, he felt a twitch. He is afraid that he won't be able to train properly [because he will be worried about injuring the shoulder]. He is sick about it [not being able to fight]," Dunkin told BoxingScene.com.

Attorney Michael Miller says that Kirkland is hoping to return in October or November, which was the original plan.

Lem Satterfield of Ring Magazine had a few quotes from Kirkland on Twitter:

"I just want to make sure that I'm 100 percent ready." ... "There's no need of me going in there and fighting with one arm."... "I just want the fans to know that I want to give them the show that they want to see, and I just want to make sure that I'm giving them 100 percent."

It's an entirely understandable situation, and the only thing that really stinks in any way (and "stinks" isn't the right word) is why Kirkland and his team signed up to begin with. They shouldn't have. I know GBP was in a tough spot, but that's not Kirkland's job to save their hides.

Now the attention turns to who replaces Kirkland. Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martirosyan both say they want the fight. Carlos Quintana's name has been floated around, too. At this point, there seems a decent chance that PPV will have to be thrown out the window.

We'll see, but luckily this isn't a situation where they have to find an opponent today.