Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) looked sharp on Saturday night, dispensing of Liam Smith (23-1-1, 13 KOs) by knockout in Round 9 in front of 51,240 fight fans.
The attendance broke the record for most people attending a boxing event at AT&T Stadium and is certainly encouraging for Golden Boy Promotions since Smith was a virtually unknown in the United States.
Canelo was quick and strong in the fight and carried good power, digging vicious shots to the body that helped drop the now former WBO champion three times.
As is always the case in boxing, the winning fighter barely gets to take a breath and revel in the moment before the media begins to ask what’s next.
During the post-fight press conference, Canelo and Oscar De La Hoya discussed their future plans.
“I want to make history in boxing. I only want to face the best at 160,” said Canelo.
The fight that every boxing fan and pundit wants to see is Canelo vs. Gennady Golovkin, but if that does happen, Canelo will surely need to ease his way into the 160-pound landscape.
“Well, you heard Canelo, this was probably his last fight at 154. The next jump is obviously 160,” said De La Hoya.
De La Hoya also spoke about a potential fight in December, even though Canelo allegedly hurt his right hand in the bout with Smith.
“I would love to do something in New York with him,” said De La Hoya.
“Fighting in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena and opening that up, fighting in Dallas and breaking records, and going to the Mecca of Boxing would be something that no other boxer has done.”
Before Saturday night, the winner of the co-main event between Gabriel Rosado and Willie Monroe was being talked up as a potential December opponent for Canelo. But, the snooze fest that Monroe won probably knocked him out of any serious contention.
Still, De La Hoya and Canelo seem poised to make more history–whether that history includes winning fights against champions in the ring remains to be seen.
“Fighting at three different venues in three different states would be something special,” De La Hoya.
Who would you want to see Canelo Alvarez face in December?
Photos by Porfirio Barron Jr./RBRBoxing
