By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com has received confirmation from Cameron Dunkin, the manager of James Kirkland, that his boxer's shoulder is still bothering him and he won't be able to move forward with a scheduled fight with WBC junior middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on September 15th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Kirkland's withdrawal comes less than 24 hours after a deal was finalized.

Kirkland worked out in the gym on Thursday night and immediately noticed issues with his right shoulder.

"He called me this morning and told me that he worked out last night and his shoulder felt funny, he felt a twitch. He is afraid that he won't be able to train properly [because he will be worried about injuring the shoulder]. He is sick about it [not being able to fight]," Dunkin told BoxingScene.com.

Alvarez (40-0-1, 29KOs) vs. Kirkland (31-1, 27KOs) was scheduled to headline a planned pay-per-view event called "Knockout Kings." A four city press tour was being put together.