ARLINGTON, Texas -- Liam Smith kept things respectful in the traditional stare down with Canelo Alvarez, ending it with a handshake in less than 10 seconds.How long their fight will last Saturday night is another question altogether.Smith (23-0-1) is defending his WBO junior middleweight title against the hard-hitting Alvarez, who is moving back to the 154-pound class where he has plenty of experience and never lost. But a third fighters shadow hangs over this bout: Gennady Golovkin, the middleweight champion that some contend Alvarez is avoiding.Last May, the popular Mexican champion vacated his WBC middleweight title rather than be pressured into fighting Golovkin, who now has the full WBC belt along with his IBF and WBA belts. Many had expected the blockbuster title unification fight to be staged Saturday at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.I will fight GGG and I will beat GGG, but I will not be forced into the ring, Alvarez said then. I am hopeful that by putting aside this ticking clock, the two teams can now negotiate this fight and GGG and I can get in the ring as soon as possible and give the fans the fight they want.Golovkin improved to 36-0 earlier this month by beating Kell Brook in a slugfest that ended with a TKO in the fifth round. The 34-year-old Golovkin is now targeting a unification fight with Billy Joe Saunders to claim the minor WBO title while everyone waits to see if he ends up in the ring with Alvarez.The two powerful punchers have been on a collision course since November, when Alvarez won his title from Miguel Cotto. Golovkin became the mandatory challenger, but Alvarez promoter Oscar De La Hoya wanted to have his biggest attraction fight an interim bout.So in steps Smith, the 28-year-old Briton who told ESPN that Alvarez has ducked Golovkin massively.The 26-year-old Alvarez (47-1-1) is coming off a one-punch knockout of Amir Khan in May.We know what Liam brings, its a very tough fight but thats what we prepare for, Alvarez said at the pre-fight news conference with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones front and center at his showplace stadium where less than a sellout crowd is expected. Come Saturday night, we can all celebrate together. I can have my hand raised for taking home the title and well all say `Viva Mexico.If that happens, the cheers will likely also include a call for the showdown with Golovkin. Royals Jerseys 2020 . 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Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- This is one time Rory McIlroy says he was happy to be mistaken.McIlroy was among the top four players in the world who chose not to play in the Olympics, and the four-time major champion didnt help the cause when he said it was not his role to grow the game and that he would only watch the stuff that matters on television.He did watch the golf -- at least the final hole, when Justin Rose outlasted Henrik Stenson to win golfs first gold medal in 112 years.It pleasantly surprised me, McIlroy said Wednesday at The Barclays. There was more people at the golf events than there was at the athletics. It was good to see, it really was. It seems like it was a great atmosphere down there. I think it was one of the cheaper tickets, as well, and I think that encouraged a lot of people to go.But to see the crowds and see the turnout, I was glad to be somewhat proven wrong.Golf did its part with tickets that cost about $16. It was the only sellout among Olympic venues on Sunday of the mens final round.The Olympics went as expected for Jordan Spieth.He said on the day he withdrew that his decision would loom over him during the Olympics. And he was right.I enjoyed watching the finish to the Olympics, and I wished I was there, Spieth said.He still believes he made the right decision at the time. Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and McIlroy all specifically cited the threat of the Zika virus, while Spieth said he had broader concerns about the Rio Games and that Zika was only a part of it.Spieth tweeted after the mens golf ended that it would be a goal to be in Tokyo in 2020.The potential for regret was going to be there, and it certainly was while I was watching, he said.More than the competition -- Rose and Stenson came down to the 72nd hole, while Matt Kuchar shot 63 to win the bronze -- was the Olympic experience. So when he said that I wished I was there, Spieth was talking about opening ceremony and golfers spending time at other evvents.ddddddddddddRickie Fowler sent plenty of videos, his way of trying to make the absentees see what they were missing.McIlroy didnt watch much of the traditional sports, either. He was in a cabin in upstate New York that didnt have television or even electricity, but he managed to catch up with golf on the Sunday afternoon when it finished.Johnson was in Idaho with his family, and nothing Fowler shared on social media made him jealous. He was relaxing on the lake and on the course with his family. He did watch the Olympics, just not he golf. Thats not unusual. Most players dont watch golf when they arent playing.I checked the scores on the golf just to see how it was going, but thats about the extent, Johnson said.Golf was different from when tennis first joined the Olympics in that nearly every player supported it from the start, up until uncertainly about Zika, security and other operational issues that planted doubts about the Rio Games.I would have loved to have gone and played, Johnson said. But to me, the risk wasnt worth it. So that was the reason I didnt go. I think it would be a neat experience and a lot of fun, and especially winning a gold medal would be even more fun.Day said he had no regrets. He decided not to go because of his family. His wife wants more children and he stayed home because of the Zika virus. The worlds No. 1 player only watched the final hole of Rose and Stenson, and he didnt watch much else except for Usain Bolt and a swimming relay.He said that Rose told him during a corporate outing earlier this week how many people watched golf who dont ordinary pay attention, just because it was the Olympics. And he already was looking ahead at the next chance.Theres a lot of golf to be played from now until then, Day said. If I can play my way on to that team, that would be fantastic. ' ' '