Canelo Alvarez meets WBA super middleweight titlist Callum Smith in the main event of Saturday’s DAZN card at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) hasn’t fought since an 11th-round TKO victory over Sergey Kovalev in November 2019. This is his first fight since he became a free agent in November, after severing ties with longtime promoter Golden Boy Promotions.
Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) won the title by defeating George Groves in the World Boxing Super Series final in September 2018. He has defended the belt twice since then.
In the co-main event, top heavyweight prospect Frank Sanchez (16-0, 12 KOs) takes on Julian Fernandez (14-2, 11 KOs) in a 10-round battle. Sanchez stepped up in competition this year and dominated Joey Dawejko in a one-sided unanimous decision in March, before stopping Brian Howard in the fourth round on Nov. 7.
Also on the card, Christian Alan Gomez Duran (18-2-1, 16 KOs) faces journeyman Angel Hernandez (17-15-2, 11 KOs) in an eight-round welterweight bout, and Raymond Ford (7-0, 3 KOs) takes on Juan Antonio Lopez (15-7, 6 KOs) in a six-round junior lightweight fight.
Follow live for undercard results and analysis.
Fight in progress: Raymond Ford vs. Juan Antonio Lopez, 6 rounds, junior lightweights
Results:
Williams demolishes Jones
Exciting middleweight prospect Austin “Ammo” Williams (7-0, 6 KOs) started the night off with a dominant first-round TKO victory over Isiah Jones (9-4, 3 KOs) in a bout that lasted just 91 seconds.
Williams shocked Jones with a vicious left hook that had him badly hurt, then Williams jumped on Jones with relentless pressure to the body before the referee wisely stopped the bout. Jones had never been stopped before, but Williams’ quick and powerful hands were clearly too much for him.
Williams was a sparring partner for Callum Smith leading up to Saturday night’s fight against Canelo Alvarez. This was a big stage for the 24-year-old southpaw from Houston who jumped into his boxing career late and is hoping to take a step up in competition in 2021.
Still to come:
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Title fight: Canelo Alvarez vs. Callum Smith, 12 rounds, for Smith’s WBA “super” super middleweight title and Alvarez’s WBA “regular” super middleweight title and the vacant WBC super middleweight title
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Marc Castro vs. Luis Javier Valdes, 4 rounds, junior lightweights
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Frank Sanchez vs. Julian Fernandez, 10 rounds, heavyweights