Monday 19 September 2016 22:00, UK
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez has been ruled out for the remainder of 2016 with a fractured right hand suffered in his ninth-round victory over Liam Smith.
The 26-year-old Mexican (48-1-1-KO34) produced a superb performance to dethrone Smith (23-1-1-KO13) as the WBO super-welterweight champion at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on Saturday night, but confirmed following the fight that he had injured his right hand in the second round.
Alvarez underwent an X-ray and a CT scan on Monday to determine the full extent of the damage sustained and was found to have suffered an avulsion fracture of the right thumb.
He will not require surgery on the injury, but will be sidelined for six weeks and unable to fight until next year.
After inflicting the first defeat of Smith's career, Alvarez insisted he feared no fighter and claimed middleweight king Gennady Golovkin (36-0 KO33) had turned down the chance to face him.
Alvarez told HBO: "I fear nobody. I was born for this and even though many people may not like it, I'm the best fighter right now.
"About a month ago, we offered him [Golovkin] twice or three times as much to make the fight. I didn't want to say anything because I respect my rivals. He didn't want to accept.
"We're a team. I'm not going to blame my promoter or anyone else. I fear nobody. I'm 26 years old, I've fought the best in history and as I've already said, I'm the best at this moment in time."
Golovkin, who dismissed Alvarez's claim, maintained his unbeaten record with a fifth round stoppage victory over Kell Brook on September 10.
Brook, the reigning IBF welterweight champion, stepped up two divisions to face the Kazakh knockout specialist and said following the defeat that he was targeting a clash against Alvarez at super-welterweight.
"I'd love that fight with Canelo. I just want to be in those big fights. I had a taste with the Golovkin fight and the attention around it is exciting for a fighter to be in," said Brook, who will undergo surgery on Friday on the broken right eye socket suffered in his defeat to Golovkin.
Sky Sports' incredible year of boxing continues this Saturday night when Anthony Crolla defends his WBA world lightweight crown against Jorge Linares - live on Sky Sports 2 from 7.30pm.
