Kritik und Lob » make plays on his own that were beyond sensati

Junior middleweight titleholder Liam Smith is not Gennady Golovkin. He knows that. Trust him.He has heard and read the backlash from fans and media alike who have made it crystal clear in recent months that their preference is for lineal middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez to fight Golovkin, the unified middleweight titlist and one of boxings most fearsome fighters, and not Smith, a largely unknown fighter outside his native England.Alas, Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs), 26, of Mexico, vacated his alphabet middleweight title and elected to drop down to junior middleweight, where he and his Golden Boy Promotions handlers picked Smith as the next opponent with the shaky promise that the fight with Golovkin is on their radar for fall of 2017.So Alvarez will face Smith on Sept. 17 in the main event on an HBO PPV card at AT&T Stadium -- home of the Dallas Cowboys -- in Arlington, Texas, and the attempt to sell an event few are hyped for began in earnest with the kickoff news conference on Monday at the stadium.Im getting some backlash because the Canelo-GGG fight is not happening, Smith said in an interview with ESPN.com just before the news conference began. A lot of the American fans thought because of Canelos last fight that he might get the GGG fight next because of the things he said at the post-fight press conference.Indeed, after Alvarez spectacularly knocked out Amir Khan in their 155-pound catch weight fight for the middleweight title on May 7 in Las Vegas, Alvarez and promoter Oscar De La Hoya spoke aggressively about making the much-anticipated fight against Golovkin, only to later have Alvarez vacate the title, promise to fight GGG late next year and then sign to fight Smith.Canelo built up a lot of peoples hopes up and then, obviously, we know what happened, Smith said. He gave up the title and a lot of people were unhappy with him and now hes fighting me and a lot of people dont know me, but they will after Sept. 17.Canelo avoided Golovkin to go back to 154 and I think he made the mistake of going back at 154 and choosing me.Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) certainly came off as confident heading into his biggest fight against easily the best opponent of his career. Although he has made two title defenses, he has not exactly faced murders row. He won the vacant belt by seventh-round knockout of John Thompson in October and retained it against unknown opponents in Jimmy Kilrain Kelly by seventh-round knockout in December and by second-round KO of Predrag Radosevic on June 4.Im very excited to fight Canelo, Smith said. Hes the biggest name in boxing and this stadium just adds to the excitement. I will embrace this. Im not coming here in awe of Canelo. Im definitely coming to win.Smith went into the June 4 fight knowing it was likely he would get the fight with Alvarez as long as he won.I was asked if I would be interested and I said yes, of course, but I knew I had to win June 4, Smith said. If I didnt beat Radosevic there was no other big fight for me, so I concentrated on winning and not thinking about Canelo. But Id be lying if I said it didnt excite me.The morning after he beat Radosevic, Smith said he woke up and called manager Matthew Macklin, the former longtime middleweight contender.I said, How close are we? There were little things to be finalized and confirmed, but the truth is I would have taken the fight with Canelo no matter what, Smith said. I wanted the big fight. I wanted either (Miguel) Cotto or Canelo and this one came first. I think Canelo is very good. He does lots of things very well, but he does things where we can have success. I do think hes been promoted and looked after very well. Hes had his matches picked very well.Smith claimed he is a big, strong junior middleweight, nothing like Alvarezs recent opponents, James Kirkland and Khan, both who have the reputation of having a soft chi. Both got blasted out by Alvarez.Alvarezs knockout of Kirkland in May 2015 was the ESPN.com knockout of the year. Khan, Smiths countryman, was a welterweight who moved up eight pounds to face Alvarez and paid the price when he got nailed with the first big punch of the fight in a leading 2016 KO of the year candidate.Kirkland and Khan are chinny fighters, Smith said. I am not like that. Canelo is coming down from 155 to 154 and I am a solid 154-pounder, not a small 154. Size wont make a difference in this fight. He is in for a shock. The more people see the build-up to this fight and the more people do their homework, theyll see.Im not just coming here for a payday. Im not an old guy at the end of my career looking for a payday. Ive got a title to keep. Im 27. Im not 32 or 35 on my way out. Ive got a style fans will like and Im coming here to win, and you will know it by my performance.Smith comes from a fighting family, with three brothers who are also quality pros: Callum is a top super middleweight contender, Paul twice fought for super middleweight world titles and Stephen is a junior lightweight contender who lost a world title fight earlier this year.Weve had some big nights in the family, but this night will trump them all, Liam Smith said.Alvarez has already beaten a few British fighters, including Khan, Matthew Hatton and Ryan Rhodes. Smith is not exactly looking to avenge their lossesb but hes thought about the fact that Alvarez has been successful against Brits.I dont want to be too disrespectful to those guys, but I feel I am a better fighter than those guys, he said. This is a totally different fight. Canelo knows that.And if Smith can pull off the victory, it will take its place in the pantheon of Great Britains biggest boxing victories.It would be huge, one of the biggest, Smith said. It would be the biggest one I can remember because we know how big of a name Canelo is at the moment. Floyd Mayweather is gone so he is the biggest name in the sport at the minute.Its a massive win for me when I get it. Cheapest Air Max Tn . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Cheapest Yeezy 350 V2 . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. http://www.cheapestairmaxstore.com/fake-air-max-plus-cheap.html . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Yeezy 350 V2 Store . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Cheapest Yeezy 350 Store . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Receiver or running back -- Ronald Cleveland doesnt know how to classify himself.How about this: Burgeoning playmaker.Cleveland rushed for a score and caught a 62-yard TD pass as Air Force beat Abilene Christian 37-21 on Saturday for its 13th straight win at home.The sophomore plays a hybrid position in the Air Forces triple-option offense. His 33-yard TD run in the second quarter began a spurt of 21 straight points to help the Falcons (1-0) pull away from pesky Abilene Christian (0-1). Cleveland entered the game with one career carry.I dont want to be one of those guys if I come in the defense can key on me, said Cleveland, a football, basketball, track and soccer standout during his high school career in Franklin, Tennessee. I want to focus on getting stronger and being able to make those blocks you need to make on the linebackers and defensive ends. Do whatever I need to do.Hes certainly getting stronger. He can already bench about 60 pounds more than he could a season ago.Tremendous athlete. Highly skilled, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. The thing hes done -- finally has arms. When he first got here, this (microphone) cord right here was thicker than his arms. Hes added a little bit that way. It was good to see him contribute.Quarterback Nate Romine guided the offense in his return from a knee injury that sidelined him most of last season. He finished with two TD passes as Air Force improved to 21-0 all-time against Football Championship Subdivision teams.But he didnt play late in the fourth quarter, with backup Arion Worthman taking some snaps. Worthman threw a 17-yard TD pass to Jalen Robinette with 5:27 remaining.Asked if Romine was banged up, Calhoun simply responded: We chose to put Arion in there. We thought we needed to get him out there.Abilene Christian kept it close for most of the game thanks to a defense that recovered two early fumbles. Dallas Sealey threw three TD passes, including a 76-yard strike to Tracy James with 4:14 remaining that made it 37-21.We always say around our place, whenn you get squeezed the real you comes out, Wildcats coach Ken Collums said.dddddddddddd You saw the real us and I like what I see.Air Force hasnt lost at Falcon Stadium since Nov. 21, 2013, against UNLV. Its the longest home winning streak in team history.THE TAKEAWAYAbilene Christian: Dropped to 11-34 all-time against FBS teams, but proved they could hang with the bigger schools. It couldve been even closer, but James tripped over the turf after breaking into the clear in the second quarter and Brendan Conn missed a 35-yard field goal late in the third.These guys are a high-class outfit. They go to bowl games every single year, Collums said. They are tough, and they are relentless, and they are disciplined.Air Force: A ho-hum performance. The Falcons improve to 10-0 in season openers under Calhoun.REMEMBERING DEEThis was a difficult day for the Falcon family as they honored former quarterback Dee Dowis by wearing helmet decals that featured his initials and No. 6. The school also stenciled DD on the 6-yard-line at both ends of the field and held a moment of silence.Dowis died Monday morning in a car accident outside Atlanta. He was 48.A technician at running the option offense, Dowis graduated as the academys career leading rusher.Hed make plays on his own that were beyond sensational and yet the first thing -- and I dont know why this phrase sticks in my mind, but I heard it over and over and over -- `Hey, good job, yall, Calhoun recounted. That tells you a little bit in terms of how strongly he felt about the guys alongside him.UP NEXTAbilene Christian: Host Northern Colorado, Sept. 10. The Wildcats lead the series, 10-5-1, but have dropped five straight.Air Force: Host Georgia State, Sept. 10. The Falcons beat the Panthers 48-34 on Sept. 13, 2014, in the only meeting between the two teams.-----Follow Pat Graham on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pgraham34. AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org . ' ' '