On paper the match didn’t present much of a test for Mexican icon Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the experienced and talented Canelo was challenging WBO world junior middleweight champion (154 lbs) Liam “Beefy” Smith, a good fighter,  a tough, hard-punching  fighter, but one that simply hadn’t been  in the ring with someone of the level of Canelo Alvarez.

But against all odds, Canelo vs. Smith was not the boring, one-sided fight many expected. Canelo Alvarez didn’t disappoint and neither did Beefy Smith, styles make fights, and in this case the combination of styles made for a great main event match, Canelo Alvarez dominated an aggressive Smith since the first round, but during the second round he hurt his right hand and Smith  gave him a lot or trouble,  Canelo punished him in round three, and they continued to exchange punches every round after that,  Beefy Smith was in trouble but he was not about to make things easy for the Mexican pugilist; it started to be too much for him in round 7 when Canelo scored the first knockdown, a huge right hand sent Beefy to the mat, he beat the count, got up and the fight continued, the second knockdown came in round eight, Smith took a moment to recover and got back up, only to go back down on round nine from a beautiful liver shot.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez gave Liam “Beefy” Smith the first loss of his career and took his belt, yet Liam Smith showed skills and heart, and this gained him a lot of fans .  The 51,240 people in attendance at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas where thrilled to have witnessed an exciting match

After the fight, Canelo told HBO’s Max Kellerman after the fight in reference to facing Gennady Golovkin next “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, I am not afraid to fight anyone, even when many people may not like it, I am the best fighter right now, we made an offer to Golovkin’s team, so we should know soon”.

So maybe, boxing fans will finally get to see the long awaited match Golovkin vs. Canelo.