Canelo Alvarez Becomes New Light Middleweight Champion, Calls Out Gennady Golovkin
It’s not common to name a champion as the underdog, but Canelo Alvarez is no ordinary challenger. Now Alvarez is the new WBO Light Middleweight champion after an impressive performance against now-former champion Liam Smith.
Smith was a huge underdog heading into this fight, but had a respectable performance against the former middleweight champion. Canelo’s body shots proved to be too much as he used his power to knock him down in the 7th, 8th and 9th round, forcing the referee to stop the fight and award Canelo the TKO victory.
Canelo said that there is no boxer in the world that can beat him. His statement can be backed up if he fights unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin in what may be the biggest superfight since Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao in May 2015.
Canelo has been accused of avoiding a fight with Golovkin, but Canelo said after the fight that he has given Golovkin what he wanted in terms of money.
“I fear no one,” Canelo said. “I am the best fighter right now. We offered Gennady Golovkin twice the money to fight. He didn’t accept.”
Canelo and Golovkin were in talks of fighting this fall, but they have reportedly agreed to hold off on that fight until late 2017. Now that Canelo is the 154 pound champion and Golovkin is a world champion at 160 pounds, it could complicate contract negotiations for next year. Golovkin retained his world titles against Kell Brook on September 10.
