Canelo Alvarez won the WBO Junior Middleweight title with a 9th round stoppage over previously undefeated Liam Smith in front of 51, 240 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Alvarez came out with a fast and vicious assault for which Smith was able to withstand. Smith got in an occasional right and uppercut. In round four, Smith was cut over his right eye.
In round seven, Alvarez landed a hard right to the head that sent Smith to the canvas for the first time in his career. Smith went down again in the next round from a perfectly placed left to the body. Alvarez finished things with another left to the body that not only dropped Smith, but curled his legs in the air undoubtedly due to a quick sharp pain from the show at the fight was stopped at 2:28.
Alvarez of Guadalajara, Mexico is 48-1-1 with 34 knockouts. Smith of Liverpool, England is now 23-1-1.
Willie Monroe, Jr. won a 12-round unanimous decision over Gabriel Rosado in a middleweight bout.
Monroe won by scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 and is now 21-2. Rosado is 23-10.
Joseph Diaz Jr. remained undefeated as he bloodied and battered Andrew Cancio for almost nine rounds en route to a technical knockout victory.
In round three, Cancio began to bleed from his nose after eating an uppercut. From there it was all downhill for Cancio as he ate combination after combination and the blood streamed down his nose and all over the trunks of both fighters until the fight was stopped at 2:27 of round nine.
Diaz, 125 1/2 lbs of South El Monte, CA is 22-0 with 13 knockouts. Cancio, 126 lbs of Blyth, CA is 17-4-2.
“This is a great victory, it will open up so many doors for me moving forward,” said Joseph Diaz, Jr. “I felt very comfortable today, I was the better puncher, I was faster and was able to cut the ring more efficiently. I knew that Cancio was going to be a strong guy, I knew he was going to be tough and try to push me around, so I had to be the better fighter tonight. I was able to display my defense and my power.”
Diego De La Hoya remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Luis Del Valle in super bantamweight bout.
De La Hoya, 121 3/4 lbs of Mexicali, MX won by scores of 100-90 and 99-91 twice and is now 16-0. Del Valle, 121 3/4 lbs of Bayamon PR is 22-3-0-1.
Former world title challenger Sadam Ali won a ten round unanimous decision over Saul Corral in a welterweight bout.
In round four, Ali dropped Corral with a right to the head.
Ali of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 99-91 and 99-90 twice and is now 23-1. Corral is now 22-8.
“The plan was to get the knock out, but that didn’t happen with this victory,” said Sadam Ali. “My opponent definitely had a Mexican style to him, and I was not expecting the reach he had with his arms. I knew I hurt him in the exchange of blows in the fourth round, and other times throughout the fight. This is still the win I needed and worked hard for, and I know the next fight I am in will demonstrate my will power.”
Vergil Ortiz scored a first round stoppage over Ernesto Hernandez in a scheduled four-round super lightweight bout.
Ortiz is now 2-0. Hernandez is 1-4.
“I feel motivated with this win. Never in my dreams did I expect to be on such a stage so early in my career,” said Ortiz. “In the ring, I knew my opponent was hungry for redemption early because he kept trying to throw some overhand punches. But I kept tight and when I landed my double jab and straight right punch combination, I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to get back up. I am glad I have such a solid start to my career, and I’m looking forward to more massive fights.”
Hector Tanajara Jr won a four-round unanimous decision over Roy Garcia in a lightweight bout.
Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Garcia, 132 1/2 lbs of San Antonio, TX and is now 7-0. Garcia, 133 1/2 lbs of Alice, TX is 3-20-1.
“It’s an amazing feeling being able to fight in my home state – I could hear my family members cheering from the stands, and it’s a blessing that they were able to come out to my first Texas performance,” said Hector Tanajara, Jr. “I honestly thought I was going to be able to get the knock out, but my opponent wanted to brawl and he had a resistance in the ring that I didn’t expect. In the end, I got my victory, and back to the gym we go to begin training for the next one.”
Zachary Ochoa remained undefeated with a eight-round unanimous decision over Daniel Montoya in a junior welterweight bout.
Ochoa is now 16-0. Montoya is 11-5.
“It felt good to go all eight-rounds.” said Zachary Ochoa. “It’s a good experience for me, to make sure that all my training is working. He was a tough guy, resilient, but I was in control the whole time. I knew my body shots were hurting him and I continued doing that to break him down. I knew going in it was going to be a tough fight, but we trained exactly for this, and we are ready to take on the next talented fighter.”
Alexis Salazar won a four round unanimous decision over Larry Smith in a super welterweight bout. The scores read 60-54 twice and 58-56 for Salazar who is now 8-3. Smith is 10-29-1.
“I felt good throughout the fight. I feel it was my technique that won this fight for me,” Alexis Salazar said. “My opponent was a tricky guy to fight and I thought it would be an easier night for me because of his loss streak on his record, but he made me work and I think it was a good experience.”
Anthony Yarde (8-0, 7KOs) scored a first round stoppage over Rayford Johnson in a scheduled four round light heavyweight bout.
Yarde of Great Britan is now 8-0 with seven knockouts. Johnson is 11-21.
