Two years ago, junior middleweight Joel Julio was a rising star. He was a heavy-handed, exciting fighter to watch, and as he won his first 27 matches, most by impressive knockout, Julio seemed destined to transform himself from prospect into world champion. For Julio, the potential was unlimited.
Now, he finds himself at a crossroads. Julio entered his March 7 fight with undefeated prospect James Kirkland as a slight underdog but knew he had a puncher’s chance to score the victory. Yes, Kirkland was a maniac in the ring who brought in a pristine 24-0 record, but Julio had more experience and perhaps better boxing skills.
By the end of the sixth round, though, Julio’s corner had asked referee Raul Caiz Jr. to stop the fight. Its fighter had taken too much punishment. It also left boxing observers with this question: where does Julio go from here?
Julio’s Punching Power
Julio figured he could hit Kirkland and hurt him with his power. He had relied on his punching strength so many times before.
But as Kirkland told reporters after the sixth-round TKO, “I can take a punch from a robot.”
While Julio landed some clean punches on Kirkland’s chin, Kirkland never wavered. Instead, he overwhelmed Julio with his aggression and his body attack. In the first round, Kirkland never stopped stalking Julio, cutting his right eye with a left hook, and by the third round, Julio’s mouth hung open. It was a telltale sign that Julio was tired.
Julio Knocked Out
Julio (34-3) never has been dominated in a fight like this. In his two previous losses, he fought decently in unanimous decision defeats to Carlos Quintana and titleholder Sergiy Dzinziruk. But Kirkland shot out a left hook that stopped Julio in his tracks at the end of the sixth round.
After consulting with Julio’s corner at the end of that round, Caiz waved off the fight, and as Kirkland celebrated all around the ring, Julio sat on his stool, his right eye swelling, looking weary and despondent.
Julio’s Next Step
It’s unclear what will happen next with Julio. He, because of his punching power, still will be considered a dangerous opponent, but one must wonder if he can punch his way through the A-level opponents at junior middleweight. He beat a decent fighter in Ishe Smith (a unanimous decision victory April 30, 2008), and he stopped Contender fighter Cornelius “K9” Bundrage.
But Smith and Bundrage aren’t high-level opponents. Julio’s last two opponents – Kirkland and Dzinziruk – are at the world-class level. One must wonder: is this the best Julio can do, and if not, when will Julio show that ability?
The future for Julio still is unclear.
