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Canelo Álvarez vs James Kirkland — record, stats and common opponents compared

🇲🇽SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT

Canelo Álvarez

🇺🇸UNITED STATES

James Kirkland

Canelo Álvarez (63-3-2) and James Kirkland (34-3) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 1 common opponent.

Álvarez

63

Wins39 KO · 62%

3

Losses

2

Draws68 tracked bouts

Kirkland

34

Wins30 KO · 88%

3

Losses

0

Draws37 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Álvarez leads 1–0

Canelo Álvarez and James Kirkland have met 1 time; Álvarez leads 1–0.

Canelo Álvarez and James Kirkland have met 1 time; Álvarez leads 1–0.
Met2015May 9Series
Canelo ÁlvarezFighter AWWon1–0W–L
James KirklandFighter BLLost0–1W–L
ResultKOR31Meeting

The Numbers

Álvarez 5 · Kirkland 2 of 7 measurable rows
ÁlvarezKirkland
Record
63-3-2 (edge)34-3
Win %0–100%
94.1% (edge)
91.9%
Wins by knockoutmax 39
39 (edge)
30
KO rate0–100%
61.9%
88.24% (edge)
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)†0–100%
62%
88% (edge)
Times stopped†max 3
0 (edge)
3
Title reignslevelmax 0
0
0
Bouts per year‡max 3.4
3.4 (edge)
1.9
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 68
68
37

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Height+2″
Canelo Álvarez: 5′7″
James Kirkland: 5′9″ (edge)
ReachLevel
Canelo Álvarez: 70″
James Kirkland: 70″
Age6 yrs apart
Canelo Álvarez: 36
James Kirkland: 42
Stance
Canelo Álvarez: Orthodox
James Kirkland: Southpaw

Canelo Álvarez left, James Kirkland right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only
Canelo Álvarez63 wins · from 68 tracked bouts

Canelo Álvarez: 63 tracked wins — 39 by KO/TKO (62%) and 24 on the cards (38%). Counted from 68 bouts Kill The Body has ingested.

39 by KO/TKO 62%24 on the cards 38%

James Kirkland34 wins · from 37 tracked bouts

James Kirkland: 34 tracked wins — 30 by KO/TKO (88%), 3 on the cards (9%) and 1 by another method or unrecorded (3%). Counted from 37 bouts Kill The Body has ingested.

30 by KO/TKO 88%3 on the cards 9%1 by another method or unrecorded 3%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Canelo Álvarez 68, James Kirkland 37 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

1 shared

1 shared · even on 1

Álvarez

Opponent

Kirkland

  • Canelo Álvarez

    Win, TKO 10

    2014

    AnguloEven

    James Kirkland

    Win, TKO 6

    2011

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Canelo Álvarez had won four in a row before losing a decision to Terence Crawford. Álvarez last boxed on Sep 13, 2025 — 403 days ago.WWWWL

Charlo Sep 2023Munguia May 2024Berlanga Sep 2024Scull May 2025Crawford Sep 20253.4 tracked bouts per year

James Kirkland last boxed on Dec 26, 2020 — 2,125 days ago. Kirkland had won two in a row before losing by stoppage to Juan Macias Montiel.WLWWL

Tapia Dec 2013Álvarez May 2015Courter Aug 2019Phipps Nov 2019Montiel Dec 20201.9 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them
Have Canelo Álvarez and James Kirkland ever fought each other?
Yes. Canelo Álvarez and James Kirkland met once on May 9, 2015, and Canelo Álvarez won by KO in round 3.
The meeting

WMay 9, 2015 · Álvarez · KO R3

Head to Head ↓
Who has the better record, Álvarez or Kirkland?
Canelo Álvarez is 63-3-2 and James Kirkland is 34-3. Canelo Álvarez has the higher win percentage.
Records · win %

Álvarez63–3–294.1%

Kirkland34–391.9%

The Numbers ↓
Who has more knockouts, Álvarez or Kirkland?
Canelo Álvarez has 39 knockout wins and James Kirkland has 30. Canelo Álvarez has more.
Knockout wins · KO rate

Álvarez3961.9%

Kirkland3088.2%

The Numbers ↓
Do Álvarez and Kirkland have any common opponents?
Canelo Álvarez and James Kirkland share 1 common opponent: Alfredo Angulo. Neither fighter fared better across the shared opponents overall.
Shared opponent

Alfredo AnguloWW

Common Opponents ↓
Who is bigger, Álvarez or Kirkland?
James Kirkland is the taller fighter at 175 cm, 4 cm above the other. Canelo Álvarez also has the longer reach, by 1 cm.
Height · reach

Álvarez171 cm179 cm reach

Kirkland175 cm178 cm reach

Tale of the Tape ↓
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Álvarez and Kirkland?
This comparison is drawn from 68 bouts tracked for Canelo Álvarez and 37 bouts tracked for James Kirkland. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.
Bouts tracked · no edge

Álvarez68bouts

Kirkland37bouts

How They Win ↓

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