Saul "Canelo" Alvarez knocked down Liam Smith three times as he won the WBO light middleweight title, recording the 34th knockout of his career in the ninth round.

Alvarez had vacated his WBC middleweight title, which he successfully defended against Amir Khan back in May, and dropped down a weight division to take on the undefeated Smith.

And Canelo's pedigree told at AT&T Stadium on Saturday as he secured victory by technical knockout, a powerful left hook to the body sending Smith to the canvas for the third and final time.

The more aggressive fighter throughout the contest in front of partisan Mexican crowd, Alvarez found consistent success with the body shot as well as a brutal uppercut.

It was one such uppercut that felled Smith, who was 23-0-1 going into the fight, in round seven.

The Briton was able to pick himself up and survive the count but struggled to do so in the eighth round as a body shot left him crumpled on the canvas again.

Sensing the end, Canelo came out swinging in round nine and Smith had no answer, Alvarez delighting his adoring public with his 48th career victory and one that will surely raise further questions about a possible superfight with Gennady Golovkin.