By Edward Chaykovsky
Mexican superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) is working very hard in camp to prepare for his upcoming task against WBO junior middleweight world champion Liam "Beefy" Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs), who is coming to the United States with dreams of creating a big upset.
The 12-round world championship clash will take place on Mexican Independence weekend, Saturday, September 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
But there are a lot of critics who view Smith as an easy opponent. Based on Smith's record, Canelo is by far his toughest opponent to date. On the other end, Canelo has faced fighters who are viewed as being superior to Smith.
Canelo is taking no chances. This will be his first fight at the 154 limit (or below) since losing a decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013 (catch-weight of 152). Even fight since the Mayweather defeat, including a brief stint at middleweight, has taken place at 155.
"No I do not pay attention to the criticism. Liam is a world champion for a reason, he didn’t get there without hard work and people should respect him as a fighter. This is his first fight in the U.S. and his first big introduction to the U.S. boxing fandom," Canelo told Seen Sport Magazine.
"There is a reason he is undefeated and has won his last eight fights via knockout, he is a dangerous fighter. I know he is coming to the U.S. to make an impact and I am definitely not taking him lightly and the fans shouldn’t either. Like I said before, every fight at this stage of my career is dangerous and I have to be prepared for everything on September 17."
