CANELO’S ARMED AND DANGEROUS
Smith faces months out after tearing his bicep in first ever defeat by masterful Alvarez
CALLUM SMITH is facing months out of the ring after suffering a suspected torn bicep during his defeat by Canelo Alvarez.
The Brit lost his WBA super-middleweight crown to the man from Guadalajara, j who delivered ed a punchperfect punchay display (right).
The brilliant ant Mexican also o claimed the
WBC title with a unanimous nis points in San Antonio, Texas. But Smith, 30, did suffer a serious injury to his left arm in the fourth round of the clash. The Liverpool fighter will arrive back in the UK today and undergo a scan to find out the extent of the damage. But he faces an extended period of rehabilitation reh – althou although he refused to us use the injury as a an excuse for his first career defeat. Smith said: “I ’m devastated. I came here to win. No excuses, he was very good. It could have been a better version of me. He is smart and he is clever.
“He closes ground, sets traps and before you know it he’s closed the ground up.
“I maybe let him close the ground up too easily.”
Alvarez was in fine form from the first bell as he edged in on Smith – despite the Brit having a huge seven- inch height and reach advantage.
There is a reason why Alvarez is considered the pound-for-pound king.
And this performance just cemented that position as he added two super- middleweight titles to his lightwin middleweight, middleweight and light-heavyweight belts.
Smith needed to earn the respect of Alvarez early on to stop his opponent moving within range.
But after a few rounds, ds, Alvarez clearly felt he could take everything Smith had to offer, making the Scouser’s job almost impossible.
Alvarez’s jab was razor zor sharp early on and, as the fight progressed, his power shots started to burst through Smith’s guard.
Smith did have his moments in the fight, though, getting through with a number of stiff left hands and some decent rights.
Had he been battling a fighter below Alvarez’s class, Smith’s work would have been good enough to have done dam damage and win more r rounds.
But Alvarez is special and Smith also struggled to cope with his rival’s defence skill and sharp reflexes. Alvarez’s body work was equally impressive and helped to open up Smith before those right hands started to really shunt his opponent’s head back.
With his right eye swollen
and blood pouring from his nose, it looked like Smith might get stopped late on in the fight.
But he showed his determination as he managed to go the distance, despite Alvarez hunting a knockout.
The Mexican’s aim is now to unify the division with fights against IBF champion Caleb Plant and WBO title holder Billy Joe Saunders ( left).
Smith hinted he may move up in weight as making 12st is a tough challenge for a man of his size after his 28th fight.
He added: “Alvarez was good, no excuses. I feel I might have outgrown the weight.”