Liam Smith

By Scott Gilfoid: This is probably inconsequential but I WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) looks taller than challenger Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) more than a half an inch. The two fighters are listed as close to the same height, and yet the 5’9 ½” Smith appears to be at least one inch taller than the 5’9” Canelo.

It makes you call into question the accuracy of the listed heights for the two fighters because in every picture there is of the two side by side or facing off, Smith appears to be a good one inch taller.

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By Dan Ambrose: WBO junior middleweight champion Liam “Beefy” Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) is not planning on losing his WBO title against challenger Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) on September 17 when the two of them face each other in a showdown in the 154lb division. Smith sees this fight as one that he absolutely will win, and he feels it’ll be a huge victory when he can add Canelo’s name to his resume of other important wins. Smith says Canelo avoided the fight against Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and moved back down to junior middleweight for the fight against him. Smith sees this as a huge mistake by Canelo, because he plans on beating him.

Smith, 27, didn’t just take this fight for the big payday that comes along with it. He took the fight because he believes he can beat Canelo, and he plans on doing just that.

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By Dan Ambrose: If Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) gets by unbeaten WBO junior middleweight champion Liam “Beefy” Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) in their fight on September 17 on HBO PPV, Canelo plans on moving up to the full weight of the middleweight division at 160lbs in December in a fight that will be shown on regular HBO. This fight will get Canelo ready for a much bigger match against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) next fall.

As for whom the 25-year-old Canelo will be facing in December, it’s quite possible he’ll be challenging WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders or fellow Golden Boy Promotions fighter David Lemieux. Saunders would be the likely opponent for Canelo, because he’s fighting on the Canelo vs. Liam Smith undercard on September 17.

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By Jeff Aranow: WBO junior middleweight champion Liam “Beefy” Smith (23-0-1, 12 KOs) is coming into his fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) with an eight-fight consecutive knockout streak going over the last three years, and he plans on making the 25-year-old Canelo knockout No.9 in a row when the two of them start trading blows on September 17 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The 27-year-old Smith isn’t just coming down to the U.S to hand his WBO 154lb title over to the Mexican Canelo in a ceremonial passing of the belts. Smith wants to go home with his WBO title after taking Canelo’s scalp. It’ll be a fine scalp for Smith to add to his collection. He can put that one along with his pelts from the likes of John Thompson, Predrag Radosevic, Jimmy Kelly and Jason Welborn.

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By Dan Ambrose: WBO junior middleweight champion Liam “Beefy” Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) and challenger Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) met on Monday for their kickoff press conference at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The two fighters are promoting their September 17 fight the super-sized 80,000 seat AT&T Stadium.

Their fight will be televised by HBO pay-per-view, but it’s a real ask by Golden Boy Promotions to put this fight on PPV because it’s considered a mismatch on paper.

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By Dan Ambrose: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) will be challenging WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) on September 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, according to RingTV. This is a stadium that seats close to 90,000 fans, which is probably way more than the fight will draw in. Golden Boy Promotions has been taking their time in naming the venue for the fight. To be honest, they probably should have had the Canelo-Smith fight take place in the UK rather than the U.S, because I have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot of empty seats on September 17 at AT&T Stadium. It’s the wrong fight. Fans don’t want to see Canelo beat up on a junior middleweight that he out-weighs by 20 pounds. They want to see Canelo fight Gennady Golovkin.

Canelo has attracted huge crowds in previous fights in Texas against Austin Trout and James Kirkland. It doesn’t make a lot sense to stage the Canelo-Smith fight at the AT&T Stadium because Smith isn’t a well -known fighter in the United States, and it could be difficult to sell tickets for the contest.

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By Patrick McHugh: WBO junior middleweight champion Liam “Beefy” Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) realizes that he’ll be a big underdog in his fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) on September 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Smith doesn’t care that the odds makers have the 25-year-old Canelo as the favorite because he plans on showing them that they’re wrong. Smith says he’ll too mentally strong and too tough for Canelo when the two of them meet up in two months from now.

Canelo figures to win the WBO title to add to his collection. By selecting Smith, it gives the impression that Canelo sees him as an easy mark, because he could have selected one of the Charlo brothers or Erislandy Lara to fight for their titles.

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By Robbie Bannatyne: They say its better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know. By definition, you don’t know what you’re dealing with when faced with an unknown quantity. To American audiences, Liverpool WBO light middleweight champion Liam Smith is a book without a cover, but that’s not stopped them judging his fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as a blatant mismatch for their fight on September 17.

Have we learned nothing from the cautionary tales in boxing history of the unknown quantity taking a quantum leap in class to cut down a well know champion?

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