Canelo Alvarez stops Liam Smith in the ninth; will dream match with Golovkin happen in 2017?

Canelo Alvarez was too much for Liam Smith on Saturday night

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By Chris Robinson

On Saturday night, Sep. 17, Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez captured the WBO junior welterweight title from Liverpool’s Liam “Beefy” Smith via ninth round TKO inside of the AT&T Stadium inĀ  Arlington, Tex.

Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KO’s) was precise throughout the contest, building up an early lead off of his combination-punching and work to the body. Smith was a brave opponent in the face of such firepower, but was never able to get his game plan on track.

Alvarez registered his first knockdown in the seventh round off of a combination, the first of Smith’s career. One round later and Canelo again knocked Smith down, this time off of a crippling hook to the body.

The end came in the ninth, when referee Luis Pabon waived the match off after another body shot sent Smith to the deck for good.

With the victory, Canelo again sees his name in the mix with lineal middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin in regards to a future fight. Canelo had insisted that he was ready for a showdown with Golovkin this past May following his brutal sixth-round knockout over Amir Khan, yet he ultimately vacated his WBC middleweight title and opted to face Smith instead.

Canelo and his team feel they are ready to face Golovkin in the Fall of 2017 and claim an offer has been made to Gennady’s team in excess of eight figures for such a bout.

The plot once again thickens. Stay tuned for more post-fight coverage and check below for more video highlights.

Zab Judah post-fight reaction to Canelo Alvarez knocking out Liam Smith

Shawn Porter on whether or not Canelo is ready for Gennady Golovkin

Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com

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