By CompuBox
In his last 8 fights, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez has averaged just 41.1 punches per round (fourth fewest among CompuBox Categorical Leaders). He makes them count though, landing 47.8% of his power shots (#5 on list). He also compiled a +12 plus/minus rating, #7 on CompuBox Plus/Minus list.
WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith, making a H-U-G-E step up in class, landed 7.3 jabs per round and 43.8% of his power shots. His last 5 opponents landed just 11.2 punches per round and just 7.8 power shots- both well below the weight class average.
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will try to regain a share of the world super welterweight crown he last held three years ago by dethroning Britain's undefeated Liam "Beefy" Smith.
The fight will be staged at the home stadium of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, where Filipino star Manny Pacquiao fought twice for world titles in 2010.
Alvarez, a 26-year-old Mexican, is 47-1-1 with 33 knockouts, having won five fights in a row since suffering his lone loss by a 12-round majority decision to Floyd Mayweather in 2013. Alvarez most recently knocked out Britain's Amir Khan in the sixth round last May.
Smith, 23-0 with one drawn and 13 knockouts, fights outside of Britain for the first time. The 28-year-old Merseysider has won 18 fights in a row over six years, winning eight in a row inside the distance over the past three years.
Alvarez spent two and a half years as the World Boxing Council super welterweight champion before losing to Mayweather. He beat Miguel Cotto for the WBC middleweight crown last November by unanimous decision but dropped the title to step back down in weight class to face Smith.
Alvarez is looking at a likely 2017 major bout against Kazakhstan's unbeaten Gennady Golovkin, the undisputed middleweight champion, provided he gets past Smith.
