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Saul Canelo Alvarez vs Liam Smith Fight Weigh-In Results
Saul Canelo Alvarez 154 lbs
Liam Smith 154 lbs
Liam Smith an underdog as Saturday’s clash against Canelo Alvarez looms – As boxing stars Canelo Alvarez and Liam Smith prepare for Saturday’s clash with each other, the latter is widely deemed the underdog.
Boxing pundits and followers alike think Alvarez has more experience and tactic in comparison to Smith. In their view, the Mexican pound for pound fighter has fought more professional matches and has also previously taken on bigger names such as Floyd Mayweather and Amir Khan hence his advantage over Smith. Whereas 26 year old Alvarez has fought a total of 49 matches, his Saturday opponent has only had 24 fights. Smith’s camp has also failed to get him to fight well established junior middleweight boxers such as Erislandy Lara to give him an experience with superstars.
Smith putting WBO title on the line
As the duo will be tackling each other on Dallas’ AT&T stadium, Smith’s WBO title will certainly be hanging in the balance. The Briton has to be alert throughout the fight if he is to prevail against the fearsome Alvarez. Any slight mistake from him and the Mexican might just walk away with the title he has held since 2015. Alvarez floored Smith’s countryman Amir Khan in May, there might just be a repeat of the same if Smith doesn’t go with him toe to toe.
Khan had moved up two weight divisions to face Alvarez in May but the fight ended with the Mexican knocking him out gruesomely after six rounds. Smith has however vowed not to repeat the same mistakes Khan made with Alvarez. He said he is going to box Alvarez one on one and deny him an easy knockout opportunity. Smith hasn’t sought any advice from Khan yet in spite of him training in a gym owned by Khan.
Meanwhile, Khan has expressed confidence in Smith as he faces Alvarez in Saturday’s pay per view card boxing event. Speaking to Boxing News earlier this week, Khan said that he was of the opinion that Smith will cause some problems for the Mexican and win. He also hailed his fellow Brit as a tough and tricky fighter. Khan has previously shared a ring with Smith.
Alvarez’s promoter confident of a win.
Alvarez’s promoter, Oscar de la Hoya chose Smith for Alvarez because his camp believes Smith is not likely to win and because he is the kind of boxer who will definitely come right at Alvarez.
Alvarez usually fairs better against opponents who come right at him. He on the other hand struggles against slick boxers who involve their legs in the fight and this is part of the reason he lost to Mayweather. It is also seen as one of the reasons his promoter company, Golden Boy, chose Smith and not other junior middleweights like Demetrius Andrade.
Alvarez chose to forgo his middleweight title in order to avoid facing the much feared Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin. He chose instead to move down from 155 pounds and face Smith at 154 pounds.
De la Hoya also chose this particular match so that it could serve as a Mexican Independence Day celebrations for Canelo’s thousands of Mexican fans. The event is seen as a well timed opportunity to market and popularise Canelo. He and his camp are therefore likely to be training with nothing but a win on their mind.
De la Hoya has also said that at only 26, Alvarez still has plenty of gaming opportunities ahead of him and he can only get better with the passing of time. A win by Smith on Saturday can however deny Alvarez’s career a chance of growth as it could translate into some instability for him for a while.
Alvarez’s career is also likely to be hurt by the fact that he will sooner or later have to move to 160 pounds category. At this level, he won’t have any option but to face the likes of Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs. A failure to do so might paint a picture of him being afraid of the greats and this might not mean well for his boxing career.
Smith heading into the fight unbeaten
Smith will be heading into Saturday’s contest as an unbeaten champion. The Briton has never conceded any of his 24 pro matches. His Mexican counterpart however has one loss in his record, the loss against Mayweather in May. On another side, some critics believe that Smith’s unbeaten record can help boost his confidence as he takes on the middleweight fighter. Smith on his own part believes that he can beat Alvarez because unlike himself, Alvarez is not a typical junior middleweight fighter.
Smith going shopping
Smith’s trainer Joe Gallagher is reported to have said that Liam may not proceed with the fight if by any case the Mexican fails to weigh in at 154 pounds. He said his athlete will just pocket the pay and go shopping should that be the case. The weight however is not expected to be an issue as Alvarez and his camp are working to ensure he comes below 155 pounds. The much awaited fight is therefore most likely to proceed as planned.
