By Marc Livitz: James Kirkland proved a littler too sharp for Orange, New Jersey’s Dennis Sharpe at the Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas on Friday night.
Kirkland (160 lbs) took just 2.18 to knock out Sharpe (157 lbs) in the opening round of a scheduled eight.
Kirkland had a nine-year age advantage over Sharpe. He gave up only one inch in height, but madeup for it with a 3” longer reach. He was seeking to rebound from his shocking loss on April 9 to Nobuhiro Ishida.
In round one Kirkland quickly swarmed Sharpe from the opening bell. His ruthless style has certainly returned. Sharpe got a brief reprieve from the action after he lost his mouthguard. Kirkland continued to pound away at the body and head of Sharpe, who attempted to exchange some fire power, but it only got him into deeper water.
Kirkland continued to throw combinations of hooks & uppercuts. A short left to the solar plexus of Sharpe at the 1:43 mark had its desired effect for the first knockdown of the fight. Sharpe beat the count but another left hand punch to the body was all it took for Kirkland to score another first round knockout.
