Canelo Alvarez beats Liam Smith with ease and takes 154-lbs Title

By Francisco Romero. – A mismatch it was, when some of us thought it would be harder, but Saul el “Canelo” Alvarez had no trouble beating Liam Smith by knockout in the 9^th round Saturday night in front of 51,240 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

From the early going both fighters went at each other, but Canelo was more effective with his punches. At one point in the fourth round Canelo connected four straight unanswered punches.

By the seventh round Canelo had solidified the bout, with a four-punch combination sent Smith to the mat and chased him around the ring.

In the ninth round Canelo came out very aggressive landing several punches, after landing a hook to the body Smith went down, as pain was noticeable in Smith’s face. The referee stopped the fight without even counting.

With the victory Saul el Canelo Alvarez becomes the WBO Middleweight Champion; Canelo had to come down to 154 lbs. a weight he once dominated and once again he proved he could fight at that division effectively.

Canelo finished the fight with an injured right hand but said he hopes it is not broken and will have it looked at in the coming days.

“Because of the injury to my right hand since the second round, I had to utilize my left hand and use my hook a little bit more effective,” said Canelo after the fight, “It is one of the things I always prepare for, I always prepare for the unexpected in order to make adjustments during the fight and that is what I did.”

Canelo was happy with the fight, but said that Smith was a tough fighter, “We knew he was tough fighter and I prepared for a tough fighter, he is young and strong and he can hang, but I was able to give a good fight to our fans.”

“I gave the best of what I had today and I fell short,” said Smith after the fight. “(Canelo) was very strong, very accurate.”

Alvarez record stands now at 48-1-1, 34 Kos; while Smith’s record is 23-1-1, 13 Kos.