Liam Smith flexes during the official weigh-in for the upcoming title fight against Canelo Smith at the stadium in Arlington, Texas, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016.
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“Smith will now return to his native Liverpool before he starts work towards another world title bout, and he admits that he has learned a lot from the whole experience of fighting Alvarez”.
As for Alvarez, the win gives him a belt at 154 lbs again, and there are challenges in that weight class as well as a slew of potential rematches there that should keep him in the super welterweight division for the foreseeable future.
With most observers locked into a future match-up between the current Ring Magazine Middleweight champion and the recognized best 160 pounder in the world, Gennady Golovkin, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is now listed as a 12 to 1 (-1225) betting favorite on most Sports Books, while Liam Smith is registered as an nearly whopping 9 to 1 (+875) betting underdog.
Canelo flattened Smith with a body shot in the 8th round.
Mexican superstar Canelo admitted that he was in for one of the hardest fights of his life but promised his fans that they would celebrate together after he took Smith’s belt from him.
Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs), 26, was 154½ pounds for his knockout of the year against James Kirkland in May 2015.
“I don’t want that to happen, so this fear I have in training will bring the best out of me when I face Alvarez”.
Liverpudlian Smith is unbeaten in 24 contests and won the WBO belt when he defeated United States of America fighter John Thompson in Manchester last October. About a month ago we offered (GGG) two to three times as much to make the fight. He better respect my power. “We are ready for him he just didn’t want to accept”.
“We are a team and I’m not going to blame my promoter or anyone else but I fear no-one”.
“He was too good and skillful, and I was too slow tonight”.
I wouldn’t say it was a great fight. The attendance record had been set in a Manny Pacquiao fight. “I’m going to win this fight”.
Alvarez put him down in the seventh with a three-punch combination, the last being a right to the head.
Alvarez showed tremendous versatility with his punches. Smith, 28, never appeared to be on the verge of winning the fight. If he hits you on the chin, he can take you out.
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Moments later it came, when Alvarez landed a brutal left hook to the body. “I am very disappointed”.
