Archak stopped by Angulo in 1

By: Christopher Roche

James Kirkland burst out of his corner like a house of fire, but the Austin, TX native found himself on the seat of his pants at the thirty second mark of round one.

Kirkland, who is a super-prospect southpaw, ate two hard right hands from Bronx resident Allen Conyers and suffered the first knockdown of his career. Kirkland quickly bounced back up and as he took the eight count he looked like a bull waiting for the gate to open. Kirkland sprinted after Conyers, and he took another hard counter shot, but he walked through it and began uncorking his devastating left hand.

Kirkland overwhelmed Conyers as he knocked Conyers down midway through the round. Conyers rose from the canvas, but he looked shaky. Kirkland jumped on his prey, and despite a brave effort from Conyers, Kirkland closed the show near the end of the round. Conyers’ legs were clearly gone, and Kirkland dropped him at 2:56 of the round, and the referee immediately waved off the bout.

Kirkland, 23, learned a lot about himself tonight, and he improved to 21-0, 18 KO’s, and Conyers, 31, dropped to 11-3, 9 KO’s. Despite the knockdown he suffered in round one, Kirkland looks like he is well on his way to contender status in the Junior Middleweight division.

In the opener, New Jersey resident Archak TerMeliksetian suffered a devastating loss to 2004 Mexican Olympian Alfredo Angulo. TerMeliksetian started out strong, and he boxed at the open. However, a slugfest broke out, and TerMeliksetian landed two hard rights, but he left himself open and paid the price. Angulo knocked TerMeliksetian down twice, and the bout was stopped despite a protest by Archak.

Angulo, 25, moved to 11-0, 8 KO’s while TerMeliksetian fell to 16-6, 13 Ko’s. Angulo is not the fastest fighter in the world, but he has a lot of skill and power, and he will definitely show up on the radar in the Junior Middleweight division.