I know it's only 34 seconds, so not a lot to go by, but to me it looks like his punches are crisper, cleaner and straighter. Less wild. Below the video are a couple paragraphs from an interview that speak on it.
I really believe Adams can continue to improve his game. Not to discredit Wolfe in any way I think she's great, but Kirkland needed some fine tuning if he wants to really get to the next level.
While his opponent, Ashandi Gibbs, a six-round fighter coming off two losses, was clearly there as a sacrificial lamb, there were subtle differences in Kirkland’s game. The punches came from close to his center near his chin and returned just as close. Before, Kirkland’s hands would go all over the place as he stormed forward in full-out attack mode, caution be damned. This is how he got dropped by Allan Conyers in the first round of their fight in November 2007. The result of Adams’ and Kirkland’s new union was brief- 34 seconds to be exact- but the work they are doing together is evident.
“What I was pleased with more than anything else was that James didn’t primarily have a hook before so we’ve been working on that,” explained Adams. “So that was one thing that he threw that I was very pleased about. But you know, James has got all the other tools anyway. But the big key for him, he’s such a dedicated, hard-working guy so things can never get but a lot better for him. That’s how it’s going to happen. Things are going to get much better.”
[...]
One thing that was apparent was Kirkland’s balance was better. Sure, it was a super-short fight but you could tell his center of gravity was different. He was lower to the ground with his hips under him and more compact in general, a wrecking ball as opposed to an out-of-control storm.
“[Adams has] been showing me all the new tricks,” explained Kirkland. “How to sit down on punches, how to hold your balance down. There are a lot of tricks of the trade that he knows that he is giving to me. [Balance] and being able, when I make a certain move, to know how to adjust and be able to fly with a bunch of power while making that move.”
“That was one of the things we were working on, getting his balance better,” said Adams. “We’ve been together about four weeks now. It is going to work itself out. I know a lot of people are wanting to jump in and do a lot of fighting for him but I hope they give him an opportunity to kind of work with it. Although knowing him, he wants to fight, fight, fight. He wanted another fight tonight after this one. He wanted us to put him in again.”
I really believe Adams can continue to improve his game. Not to discredit Wolfe in any way I think she's great, but Kirkland needed some fine tuning if he wants to really get to the next level.
While his opponent, Ashandi Gibbs, a six-round fighter coming off two losses, was clearly there as a sacrificial lamb, there were subtle differences in Kirkland’s game. The punches came from close to his center near his chin and returned just as close. Before, Kirkland’s hands would go all over the place as he stormed forward in full-out attack mode, caution be damned. This is how he got dropped by Allan Conyers in the first round of their fight in November 2007. The result of Adams’ and Kirkland’s new union was brief- 34 seconds to be exact- but the work they are doing together is evident.
“What I was pleased with more than anything else was that James didn’t primarily have a hook before so we’ve been working on that,” explained Adams. “So that was one thing that he threw that I was very pleased about. But you know, James has got all the other tools anyway. But the big key for him, he’s such a dedicated, hard-working guy so things can never get but a lot better for him. That’s how it’s going to happen. Things are going to get much better.”
[...]
One thing that was apparent was Kirkland’s balance was better. Sure, it was a super-short fight but you could tell his center of gravity was different. He was lower to the ground with his hips under him and more compact in general, a wrecking ball as opposed to an out-of-control storm.
“[Adams has] been showing me all the new tricks,” explained Kirkland. “How to sit down on punches, how to hold your balance down. There are a lot of tricks of the trade that he knows that he is giving to me. [Balance] and being able, when I make a certain move, to know how to adjust and be able to fly with a bunch of power while making that move.”
“That was one of the things we were working on, getting his balance better,” said Adams. “We’ve been together about four weeks now. It is going to work itself out. I know a lot of people are wanting to jump in and do a lot of fighting for him but I hope they give him an opportunity to kind of work with it. Although knowing him, he wants to fight, fight, fight. He wanted another fight tonight after this one. He wanted us to put him in again.”
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