Twice in two weeks British world champions – Kell Brook and Liam Smith – have stepped up to the elite level and come up short. Of the two a case can be made that Kell Brook does belong at the elite level, just not at middleweight; and certainly not at middleweight against the machine that is Gennady Golovkin. The Sheffield welterweight world champion’s next outing at light middle will prove beyond doubt if he’s as good as many of us believe he is when up against the likes of Canelo Alvarez – assuming, of course, that the Mexican stays at 154lbs to defend the WBO belt he just won from Britain’s Liam Smith, against whom he looked superb, securing a 9th round stoppage on the back of a vicious left uppercut to the body.
Liam Smith and Kell Brook could meet as they attempt to come back from stoppage defeats
Kell Brook lost in a brave and exciting attempt at taking middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin’s belts. Liam Smith lost in a brave and exciting attempt at defending his super-welterweight title against Canelo Alvarez. Now, as both fighters attempt to bounce back after losing their unbeaten records, word is the two warriors who enhanced their reputations in defeat could meet each other in what would be a British super-fight.
Brook, who is still healing after taking considerable punishment from GGG just over a week ago, said post-fight that be feels his future is at 154, while Smith, who suffered cuts and an injured jaw in his battle with the Mexican superstar who pulled in an astonishing 50,000 fans, will also need time to recover before he can box again. But as a comeback fight, Brook-Smith would certainly prove an attractive fight to fans of both men. It would be a risky fight no doubt, but both Brook and Smith have proven they are more than willing to take risks in order to become great fighters.
Canelo beats Smith. Is it time he moved up in weight?
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez looked clinical in claiming the WBO light middleweight title with a 9th round stoppage of Liam Smith on Saturday night. Canelo had been dominant from the opening bell and managed to put Smith down in rounds 7 and 8 before finding a fight ending left hook to the body.
It was in many aspects a typical Canelo performance, looking tremendous in spurts with his fast and accurate combinations, whilst not wasting any shots. For his part, Smith was brave but looked overmatched. To his credit he came with genuine intentions to win, and when the going got tough he went out on his shield rather than just try to survive.
Canelo Alvarez: We offered Golovkin the fight, he didn’t want to accept
As expected, the big talking point after Canelo Alvarez’ challenge of WBO 154-pound champ Liam Smith was not the result – a dominant 9th-round KO win by the Mexican star – it wasn’t the bravery of the vanquished Smith, and the talking point wasn’t Canelo’s overall performance. No, the big talking point was, and is, will Canelo now fight middleweight king Gennady Golovkin next?
And in speaking after his victory, Canelo, who also revealed he hurt his right hand in the early going of the Smith fight, said Golden Boy offered GGG a deal “about a month ago.” According to Canelo, the offer was “twice or three times as much [money] to make the fight. He didn’t want to accept.”
Chris Eubank Junior: From the GGG fight, to the Langford fight, to no fight!
What a perplexing figure former British middleweight champion Chris Eubank Junior really is. The vocal, seemingly cocksure fighter has, in the past month or so: gone from being on the verge of challenging world middleweight ruler Gennady Golovkin in a £million pound fight (and beating him, according to Eubank Jr and Senior) to being set to defend his British title against the far less known Tommy Langford for a far less substantial payday, to vacating the British title and now having no next fight in sight, at all.
Results: Canelo Alvarez beats Liam Smith with ninth round KO
On Mexican Independence Weekend, Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) was crowned the new WBO Junior Middleweight World Champion in front of a record breaking crowd of 51,240 roaring fans at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Canelo established himself as a ticket seller king breaking AT&T Stadium’s previous record of 50,994 for a boxing event established by Manny Pacquioa vs. Joshua Clottey in 2010.
Results: Monroe Jr outpoints Rosado; Jojo Diaz beats Cancio
Gabriel Rosado (23-10, 13 KOs) battled Willie “El Mongoose” Monroe, Jr. (21-2, 6 KOs), of Rochester, NY in a 12-round match for the vacant WBO Intercontinental Middleweight. Starting out, the fighters tested each other as they kept their distance by using jabs and counterpunches. As the rounds progressed, the fighter’s aggression grew, with Rosado pushing Monroe after the bell for the ninth round. In the eleventh round, Rosado landed a body shot to Monroe while also suffering an accidental headbutt. In the end, the judges determined “El Mongoose” the champion of this fight by unanimous decision with scores of 112-116, 110-118, 111-117.
Results: Diego De La Hoya continues to impress; Sadam Ali back with a win
Mexicali’s Diego De La Hoya (16-0, 9 KOs) came out in full force in his WBC Youth Super Bantamweight title defense against Luis “Orlandito” Orlando Del Valle (22-3, 16 KOs) of Baymon, Puerto Rico as the HBO Pay-Per-View telecast opener on Mexican Independence Day weekend. As a classic Mexico vs. Puerto Rico boxing match rivalry, there wasn’t a single dull moment in the De La Hoya vs. Del Valle matchup as both fighters were relentless in the ring. In round six, after deflecting punches, Del Valle stumbled back in the ring with De La Hoya continuing to go after him. In the end, De La Hoya’s aggression made all the difference as the judges announced a unanimous decision victory for Diego De La Hoya.
Results: Oleksandr Usyk defeats Krzysztof Glowacki
In showing off his incredible boxing skills, 2012 Olympic gold medalist Oleksandr Usyk (10-0, 9 KOs) out-boxed previously unbeaten WBO cruiserweight world champion Krzysztof Glowacki (26-1, 16 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night to win the WBO belt at the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland.
Results: Canelo KOs Smith; Monroe defeats Rosado
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) was too big, too strong, and far too talented for WBO 154lb belt holder Liam “Beefy” Smith (23-1-1, 13 KOs) in defeating him by a 9th round knockout on Saturday night on HBO pay-per-view in front of 51,000 fans at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Canelo dropped Smith three separate times in the bout in putting him down in the 7th, 8th and 9th. Smith couldn’t get up after the knockdown in the 9th, and the fight was stopped.