Alvarez stops Smith to win WBO title: By John J. Raspanti
Canelo Alvarez captured the WBO super middleweight championship by stopping game former titleholder Liam Smith (23-1-1, 13 KOs) in round nine at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas Saturday night.
Unlike some recent opponents, like Erislandy Lara and Floyd Mayweather, Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) didn’t have to chase Smith. The Liverpool native came right at him in the first few rounds.
By John J. Raspanti: After knocking out Amir Khan with a thunderous right hand four months ago, Canelo Alvarez spoke of fighting WBA and IBF titleholder Gennady Golovkin "later this year."
Apparently talk is cheap. The bout never materialized. Both sides blamed each other.
Instead of Golovkin, Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs), who’s now fighting as a junior middleweight, will face undefeated Liverpool native Liam Smith this Saturday at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on HBO pay-per-view.