The endless negotiations have begun to feel like the lost years preceding the boondoggle between Mayweather and Pacquiao?
Saturday night at the AT&T Arena in Arlington, Texas, in a fight televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View, former WBC World middleweight champion Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs), from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, knocked out Liam ?Beefy? Smith (23-1-1, 13 KOs), from Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, to win the WBO World junior middleweight title.
The time of the stoppage was 2:28 of round nine.
Fighting out of the red corner in blue and white trunks, Canelo chopped down his opponent like he was a tree, before delivering the coup de gr?ce courtesy a body shot, after having him down in rounds seven and eight.
Smith, fighting out of the blue corner in grey trunks with black trim, came to fight, but he was totally dominated by a younger, bigger, stronger fighter who had more to lose, and more to gain, than the game but overmatched British champion.
That the fight was not competitive was of no concern to the 51,420 fans who packed the stadium to cheer Canelo on. By their lights, Canelo can do no wrong. And if ?Beefy? was not up to the task of defending the title he won a year ago, especially against a fighter of Canelo?s stature, well, perhaps so much the better.
No one knows what this era will be called by future generations but it?s unlikely to be called the Age of Discernment, and that lack of discernment was reinforced by the one-sided nature of all four fights on the telecast.
Depending of what one reads, depending on what one chooses to believe, the selection of Smith as sacrificial victim was part of a larger strategy, a strategy whose ultimate aim was to line up a title fight with Gennady Golovkin.
Triple G is the elephant in the room insofar as Canelo is concerned. Eight years older and no more proficient at dealing with a fighter who can box than Canelo, the fight with Golovkin needs to be made, for the good of the sport, even though the endless negotiations have begun to feel like the lost years preceding the boondoggle between Mayweather and Pacquiao.
But Canelo?s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, is promising to make the fight a year from now, to build the gate (which needs no building) and to let Canelo grow into a middleweight (even though he probably weighed upwards of 170 pounds when the opening bell rang).
Smith came into the fight having knocked out his last eight opponents and landed some shots on the easy-to-hit redhead, but the numbers, no less than the final result, tell the whole story.
According to CompuBox, Canelo landed 157 of 422 total punches to Smith?s 115 of 403, while connecting with twice as many power shots, 113 to Smith?s 68, and that?s all she wrote.
After the fight Canelo said, ?I fear no one. I was born for this. And even though many people may not like it, I am the best fighter right now,? adding, in case anyone missed the fight, ?Liam Smith was a resilient fighter. He has a lot of heart. He was tough.?
That is true, but as we have seen many times, tough is not enough.
?I hurt my right hand in the second round when I hit him in the head,? continued Canelo. ?I was actually only using my left hand for the most part. The body shot was what I focused on, making sure I worked his body down, and that is what secured the victory.?
A hard left to the ribs did it, but a solid punch to the point of the chin might have done it as well.
?He was too good and skillful and I was too slow,? Smith said. ?I did hit him with some solid jabs and right hands, but I needed better timing and I was off today.
?If I had waited a little longer and gained more experience, I?d be able to fight a guy like that.?
Canelo might have used those exact words when describing Golovkin.
Instead, he said, ?About a month ago, we offered him twice or three times as much to make the fight. I didn?t want to say anything because I respect all my rivals, but about a month ago, we offered him twice or three times, so we?re ready. We?re ready for him. He just didn?t want to accept.?
That may or may not be so. Without a polygraph there?s no way to know for sure. But one thing is certain. Canelo intends to have two more fights, one in December and one in the spring, against opponents to be determined, after which time he?ll presumably be ready for Golovkin.
