The boxing world thought Canelo Alvarez vs. Liam Smith was nothing more than a showcase for Alvarez to distract fans from talking about showdown between him and undisputed middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
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Dynamite-punching light heavyweight talent Anthony Yarde (7-0, 6 KO’s) will fight over six rounds against an opponent to be confirmed on the undercard of Liam Smith’s fight against Canelo Alvarez this Saturday.
TESTING FAILURE: Alvarez and Smith were expected to adhere to strict testing for performance-enhancing drugs before their fight.
Midway through the seventh round, Alvarez put together a combination, including a left to the body and a right hand to the side of the head, that dropped Smith near the corner.
A 51,240 crowd came out to see the 25-year-old on Mexican Independence Day weekend and he delighted the wrapt Dallas crowd.
Smith had an air of invincibility around him coming into the fight with a 23-0-1 record, but this was really his first chance to get mainstream exposure outside of England.
Unlike Khan, whose defeat to Canelo proved he is no middleweight, Smith boats a similar style to Alavrez, and while he may lack the finesse and strength of the 26-year-old, he is a fully fledged super-welterweight built to go the distance.
Negotiations toward a fight this fall fell apart, and some were surprised Alvarez said Golovkin had been offered a fight. “He’s a very strong fighter and he likes to engage and that’s what I like because it guarantees the fans a great fight”.
At least Alvarez and Golovkin were able to get victories in their first matches after this agreement, but it’s still just delaying the biggest money fight in boxing for the sake of delaying it.
“We are a team and I’m not going to blame my promoter or anyone else but I fear no-one”.
Alvarez, who’s considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by BoxRec.com, has no time for the running scared narrative, telling TMZ Sports that a much-anticipated fight against GGG will happen “very soon”. “Liam has power and we need to be prepared for that power, whether that comes from the right hand or the left hand”.
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“We are ready for him and he doesn’t want to accept”, Alvarez said. “I was born for this, and even though many people may not like this, I am the best fighter right now. If he [starts fast], that’s a massive mistake because I’m going nowhere in this fight”. Canelo was too good today.
