James Kirkland (28-1, 25 KOs), with trainer Ann Wolfe back in his corner, made quick work of hapless cannon fodder Dennis Sharpe (17-8-3, 4 KOs), stopping the journeyman in one round of his Telefutura feature.
Kirkland came out quick and characteristically reckless, attacking his opponent upstairs and downstairs until a straight right hand to the body sent Sharpe to the canvas. Sharpe would beat the count, but find himself right back on the canvas, unable to beat the count, form a similar body shot.
This is Kirkland’s first fight since a shocking TKO 1 loss to light-hitting Nobuhiro Ishida in April.
Sharpe is now zero for his last eight, winless since 2004.
In the televised co-feature, Brian Vera (19-5, 12 KOs) stopped Eloy Suarez (11-12-1, 5 KOs) in the eighth and final round of their contest. Sloppy punches and defensive lapses abounded, but as the fight wore on, Vera’s class and experience became evident and he was able to control the action.
