Kirkland Stops Cortez in Two MaxBoxing Brief (Sept 6, 2008) Send this page to friend Give us your feedback Fighting in front of a raucous hometown crowd (and a national audience watching ESPN2), Austin's junior middleweight standout James Kirkland extended his undefeated record to 23-0 (20) with a second-round stoppage of San Jose's Ricardo Cortez Friday night. The all-action southpaw started fast as expected, forcing the taller, rangier Cortez to quickly abandon his jab-and-move strategy and instead stand and trade midway through the first round. Kirkland punished Cortez with power shots from both hands, but the gutsy Californian returned fire, especially to the body. Cortez, now 22-3-1 (15), remained game in the second round but a more settled Kirkland landed a hard left to his side, backing him to the ropes, and followed up with a chopping right hook and straight left that put him down. Cortez beat referee Gregorio Alvarez's count and tried his best to survive by alternating punching and holding but he was soon overwhelmed by Kirkland's pressure and power. Alvarez waved the bout off at 1:59 of the round to spare Cortez unnecessary punishment. Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums Boxing News Wire: News Links