Liam Smith v Canelo Alvarez to take place at home of Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys have made AT&T Stadium their home since 2009
By Andy Charles –
Liam Smith’s clash with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on September 17 will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Smith (23-0-1-KO13) is taking a significant step up in class to face former WBC middleweight champion Alvarez, whose most recent victory was a punishing sixth-round stoppage of Amir Khan in May.
Alvarez had been expected to take on Gennady Golovkin after beating Khan, but instead decided to give up the WBC belt and move back down a weight to take on Liverpudlian Smith, who holds the WBO Junior Middleweight title.
Smith won the belt last year when he knocked out John Thompson in seven rounds at the Manchester Arena.
Alvarez (47-1-1-KO32) previously held the WBA and WBC super-welterweight belts but lost them in 2013 when he suffered the only defeat of his professional career against Floyd Mayweather.
Alvarez (right) knocked out Amir Khan in brutal fashion back in May
“Texas loves Canelo, and Canelo loves Texas so it was a no-brainer to have this fight at AT&T Stadium,” promoter Oscar De La Hoya said in a statement.
“Texas is like Canelo’s second home, and he has stated that he wants to fight in Texas once a year for his fans. My friend Jerry Jones [owner of the Cowboys] extended the invitation to Canelo to fight at AT&T Stadium, so it was an easy decision for us.”
AT&T Stadium has previously held a pair of high-profile Manny Pacquiao fights – against Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito – back in 2013.