Former junior middleweight contender James Kirkland will return to the ring against Jas Phipps on November 9, it was announced Monday afternoon.

The eight-round bout will take place at the Alamodome in Kirkland’s hometown of San Antonio, Texas.

Kirkland (33-2, 29 knockouts) returned to the ring on August 24, dropping veteran Colby Courter multiple times before the fight was stopped late in the opening round. It was Kirkland’s first fight in over four years, since Canelo Alvarez knocked him out before a crowd of over 31,500 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

The 35-year-old, who has victories over Alfredo Angulo, Glen Tapia, and Carlos Molina, signed a promotional deal with Davies Entertainment, which is promoting the card.

Phipps (10-7-2, 5 KOs) also fought on the August 24 card, losing a majority decision to Edward Ortiz over eight rounds. The loss snapped a five-bout winning streak for the Killeen, Texas, resident.

The 32-year-old Phipps’ most notable bout was a decision victory over gatekeeper Brian Vera in December of 2017.

In the co-feature, Edward Ortiz will square off against hard-hitting Alexis Camacho in an eight-round middleweight bout.

Ortiz (9-0-2, 4 KOs), who also resides in San Antonio, has won his last six bouts.

Camacho (22-6, 20 KOs) is originally from Monterrey, Mexico, and now resides in Austin. The 38-year-old stopped debutant Alejandro Castaneda in the opening round of his most recent bout on April 26, his first fight in three-and-a-half years.

Carlos Villa (14-3-2, 6 KOs), another San Antonio fighter, will face Waco’s Marquis Hawthorne (8-12, 2 KOs) in an eight-round welterweight bout.

Junior lightweight Eduardo Garza (14-2-1, 7 KOs) of Mission, Texas, who is unbeaten in his last nine bouts, will square off against Mexico’s Pedro Amigon (6-15, 3 KOs) in a six-round bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper, BoxingScene and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.

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