Canelo Alvarez sheds clothes to make weight for Liam Smith title fight

Alvarez revealed afterwards that his team offered WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight champion Golovkin £8m to face him next September but have not had a response.

The fight will take place at AT&T Stadium, home to the National Football League franchise the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez seized the WBO world super-welterweight title with a spectacular ninth-round stoppage of the valiant Liam Smith.

Alvarez looked the sharper of the two from the start and although Smith produced a tidy combination with his opponent on the ropes in the fifth, the Briton’s prospects were not enhanced by a cut above his right eye.

I told you I was going to give you a big fight and bring you the championship and here it is.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was too skillful, powerful and accurate for the Liverpool fighter as he wrenched the WBO light-middleweight title from his grasp with a ninth-round knockout in front of 51,000 Mexican fans.

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.

Alvarez’s blistering pace of right uppercuts took its toll, as he knocked down Smith (23-1-1) in the eighth before finishing him in the next round.

Alvarez landed some vicious body shots early in the third, to control the round but Smith did land a few shots late in the round.

No matter what Canelo and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya want to say about the Mexican fighter not being a middleweight, he clearly is.

“We made the offer and now it’s on him, the ball is in his court”.

The 26-year-old Canelo said he delivered on his pre-fight promise to win the belt. Many had expected the blockbuster title unification fight to be staged Saturday at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

“I need that fear factor in training otherwise I might get beat by someone I should never lose against, all because I couldn’t get up in the morning”.

Alvarez said “I fear no man.

But Canelo, whose nickname means “cinnamon” in Spanish – a nod to his unusual auburn hair, is one of the most popular fighters in the sport and represents by far the sternest test in Smith’s career so far. I was actually only using my left hand for the most part, making sure left hand was connecting with power.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Canelo Alvarez knocked out Liam Smith and called out Gennady Golovkin.