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Canelo Alvarez unanimously outpointed previously undefeated Callum Smith to win the WBA and Ring super middleweight championships and the vacant WBC super middleweight title on Saturday night at the Alamodome.
Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) dominated his only fight this year, repeatedly hitting Smith (27-1, 19 KOs) with straight rights and right hooks to the head for 12 rounds.
Two judges scored the bout 119-109 and the third scored 117-111.
At 5-foot-8, Alvarez was the aggressor against the 6-foot-3-inch Smith.
Alvarez previously knocked out Callum’s older brother, Liam, on September 17, 2016, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Many speculated that Callum wanted revenge for the knockout in the ninth round, but Alvarez also dominated the young Smith.
Álvarez and Smith fought for the first time this year due to restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and ring rust was evident in the first five rounds. It was almost a minute before the first punch of the fight was thrown, a direct attack from Alvarez. The punches were sparse and the exchanges were brief in the first round as both fighters followed each other.
Alvarez pressed the action in the opening seconds of the second round, forcing Smith to respond with right hands to the head to prevent Alvarez from moving forward.
Smith hit more with his left hand in the third round, occasionally attempting a right uppercut that continually missed on landing.
Alvarez hit a series of straight rights and right hooks to the head early in the fourth round that seemed to baffle Smith. Alvarez had his most effective combination, landing a left hook to the side of the head, a straight right to the nose and another left hook that delighted the partisan crowd.
Alvarez continued to lunge and land a right hand to the face between Smith’s gloves in the fifth round. Smith followed up with a punch to the stomach to set up a right hook that seemed to shake Alvarez. Smith hit a second right hook after that trade.
After an uneventful sixth round, Alvarez landed a strong right uppercut that knocked Smith’s head back. Alvarez tried to follow up with another uppercut, but Smith dodged the attempt and missed an uppercut of his own.
Alvarez landed 60% of his power shots in seven rounds compared to just 20% for Smith.
Alvarez landed another strong right uppercut on Smith with about a minute to go in the eighth round.
Smith fell against the ropes after a strong right hook to the head with about a minute and a half left in the ninth round.
Alvarez continued to hit Smith over the head in the final rounds, causing Smith’s face to turn bright red from repeated punches.
After the victory, Alvarez said he would like a third fight against Gennady Golovkin. The two boxers fought to tie in their opening match and Alvarez won the second match.
Marc Castro earned his professional debut on the undercard, securing a third round knockout of Luis Javier Valdés (7-6-1) with a series of blows to the head and body. Castro, who won back-to-back world youth and youth championships as an amateur, had two previously scheduled bouts canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Also on the card, Frank Sanchez 17-0 (13 KO ‘) retained his WBO-NABO heavyweight title by knocking out Julian Fernandez (14-3) in the seventh round with a pair of stiff forehands to the head. Sánchez fell from the ring between the bottom two ropes, suffering his second straight loss by knockout after three straight wins.
