Big date in Texas for Liam
® LIAM SMITH will face Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on September 17.
The WBO light-middleweight champion puts his title on the line against the Mexican star at the AT&T Stadium.
The home of the NFL side has an 80,000 capacity for gridiron but it can hold up to 101,000, with seating on the pitch.
Ticket sales are not expected to go anywhere near that mark for the biggest fight of Smith’s career, but Alvarez has a huge fanbase in Texas.
His promoter Oscar De La Hoya said: “Texas loves Canelo, and Canelo loves Texas, so it was a no-brainer to have this fight at AT&T Stadium.
“Texas is like Canelo’s second home and he has stated that he wants to fight in Texas once a year for his fans.”
Indoor
The former WBC middleweight champion, who knocked out Amir Khan in May, fought in front of around 40,000 fans in San Antonio against Austin Trout in 2013.
This is the third boxing event to be staged at AT&T, with Manny Pacquiao beating Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito there in 2010.
The Clottey fight brought in just over 50,000 fans, while the record attendance for an indoor boxing event stands at 63,315 for the 1978 rematch between Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks at the Superdome in Louisiana.
But how well it will sell depends on how many fans Alvarez has lost for not facing middleweight star Gennady Golovkin.
Canelo opted to relinquish his WBC title and move back down and face Smith at light-middleweight.
The Kazakh star now faces Kell Brook in London on September 10.