By Francisco Salazar
Many boxing fans do not like it, but come September 17, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez will be challenging Liam Smith for the WBO junior middleweight title.
The 12 round bout will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., Golden Boy Promotions made the official announcement Monday morning. The consensus from those who follow the sport is that Alvarez should be fighting unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
To their chagrin, that will not happen until next September (if verbal agreements hold true), with the fight likely taking place in the same venue where Alvarez and Smith will throw hands in less than two months.
While Alvarez may be reminded of Golovkin on social media or in person, he is focusing his attention on Smith, who won the vacant WBO title with a seventh round knockout over John Thompson on October 10.
Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs), who hails from Liverpool, England, has since successfully defended the title twice. In his last bout on June 4, Smith knocked out Predrag Radosevic in the second round.
Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) is coming off a one-punch knockout win over Amir Khan on May 7 in Las Vegas, Nev. He celebrated his 26th birthday on Monday.
"Liam Smith is a strong fighter," Alvarez told BoxingScene.com over the phone Monday. "He combines his combinations well and that is the consensus in boxing. My plan is, as always, to come out victorious (September 17)."
Alvarez, who resides in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, while again set up training camp in San Diego, Calif.
"I really enjoy training there. The climate is ideal and comfortable to train there."
This will be Alvarez's third fight in Texas, where his two previous fights were fought before record crowds.
Alvarez fought before a crowd of about 40,000 at the Alamodome in San Antonio in April of 2013 when he defeated Austin Trout. On May 9 of last year, over 31,500 fans at Minute Maid Park in Houston witnessed Alvarez's third round knockout over James Kirkland.
While Oscar De La Hoya stated at Monday's press conference in Arlington that he anticipates a large crowd, would boxing fans, especially Mexican and Mexican-Americans, travel in large numbers to see Alvarez-Smith in person?
Alvarez believes so.
"The people in Texas have always treated me very well. I enjoy fighting there. I feel very content to be fighting in Dallas (Arlington). Fighting before those large crowds gives me added confidence."
Alvarez will likely face added pressure from boxing fans to face Golovkin, especially if he scores an impressive victory over Smith.
It will be interesting to see how things play out after the Smith fight and early next year, but Alvarez is not getting caught up in that.
"Fight fans know that I will give all of myself and there will be no exception on September 17."
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
