Kirkland turned professional in August 2001 in
San Antonio, Texas. In his debut Kirkland defeated fellow debutant Maurice Chalmers with a third-round knockout. Kirkland has been trained by former women's champion
Ann Wolfe since 2001. On November 22, 2008, Kirkland (24–0, 21 KOs) won an 8th round
technical knockout versus
Brian Vera (16–2, 10 KOs). Kirkland dropped Vera twice in Round 2. On March 7, 2009, Kirkland defeated
Joel Julio on
HBO's Boxing After Dark at the
HP Pavilion in
San Jose by TKO after Round 6.
Return to boxing On March 5, 2011, Kirkland returned to the ring after an almost 2-year layoff to defeat Ahsandi Gibbs via first-round KO. Two weeks later he stopped Jhon Berrio by 2nd round TKO. Just 3 weeks after that, on April 9, 2011, Kirkland faced
Nobuhiro Ishida of
Japan, in what was supposed to be a stay-busy fight for Kirkland. However, in a stunning upset, the previously undefeated Kirkland was stopped in the first round by the Japanese fighter, who isn't known for being a big puncher having only 7 KO's in 29 fights, getting knocked down 3 times. After the loss, Kirkland split with trainer Kenny Adams and reunited with Ann Wolfe. Kirkland and Wolfe had broken up after Kirkland went to prison. Kirkland came back from his first-round knockout loss to score three knockdowns over Alexis Hloros en route to a second-round knockout. He entered the fight his usual aggression, looking to mix it up immediately and scored two knockdowns in the opening round. First, Hloros went down during a flurry and then he took a knee during another stream of punches. In addition to his aforementioned victories over Angulo, Kirkland's other notable wins have been against Brian Vera (TKO8), who just lost a controversial decision to Julio César Chávez Jr., Joel Julio (TKO6) and Eromosele Albert (TKO1). On October 16, 2013, it was announced that Kirkland, has signed with promoter/rap star
50 Cent and his company SMS Promotions and has his next fight lined up. On December 7, 2013, Kirkland continued his winning ways with a sixth-round TKO of 23-year-old prospect Glen Tapia at the
Boardwalk Hall in
Atlantic City. In the article, Kirkland was described as 'potentially, the most dominant offensive force in boxing since a prime Mike Tyson'.
Kirkland vs. Álvarez Kirkland fought former Super Welterweight Champion
Canelo Álvarez after his decision victory over
Erislandy Lara on July 12. The fight took place on May 9 at
Minute Maid Park in
Houston, Texas with Kirkland losing by KO in 3rd round. ==Outside of boxing==