Canelo Alvarez, left, and Liam Smith face off with promoter Oscar De La Hoya looking on after the official weigh-in for their upcoming title fight at the stadium in Arlington, Texas, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. In this case, Smith’s slower, plodding style without true lateral movement meant Alvarez won just about every round.
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“I told you I was going to give you a great fight and bring you the championship and here it is”, said Alvaro, who put Smith on the canvas in both the seventh and eighth rounds before ending it at 2:28 of the ninth with another big left hook to Smith’s right side.
Liam Smith admits he is devastated after losing his WBO light-middleweight title to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Saturday night.
Formidable KO specialist Golovkin, who recently demonstrated his formidable prowess to a United Kingdom audience with a fifth-round stoppage of plucky IBF welterweight title-holder Kell Brook in London, was the long-time challenger for the WBC strap after becoming interim champion with a win over Marco Antonio Rubio in October 2014.
The impressive Alvarez celebrated his 48th win in his 50th bout even before referee Luis Pabon finished counting and Smith’s dream was over.
Smith fought bravely but simply found himself well outclassed as he stepped up to elite level for the first time in his previously unbeaten career. He nodded his head wanting to return by the count of five after the first two before the Mexican star stopped him. We offered Golovkin the money to fight twice. I fear nobody. I’m 26 years old, I’ve fought the best in history and as I’ve already said, I’m the best at this moment in time. We’ll see what weight we want to go and what weight gets us back to where we want to go.
“I offered Golovkin double, triple the amount to make the fight happen and he still hasn’t answered”, Canelo said after the fight. “I did hit him with some jabs and right hands, but to be more competitive I needed better timing, and my timing was off”.
TESTING FAILURE: Alvarez and Smith were expected to adhere to strict testing for performance-enhancing drugs before their fight.
Smith said he was very disappointed at losing and said his lack of experience played a part in his defeat. If you know me as a person, I’m not going there in fear and awe; I’m going there to beat him.
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There’s no reason to assume that Sadam Ali is damaged goods, but he’ll need to prove that tonight against a seemingly overmatched foe in Saul Corral.
