er faced a top opponent and is unknown outside of England.Just because Smith isnt very well-known in the U.S. doesnt diminish

LAC DE PAYOLLE, France -- A gastronomical, sporting and cultural glance at Stage 7 of the Tour de France on Friday:Region: The stage began in LIsle-Jourdain in the Gers region and followed a 162.5-kilometer (101-mile) route to Lac de Payolle in the Hautes Pyrenees.Aperitif: Hypocras, a medieval recipe mixing wine, cinnamon, ginger, sugar and nutmeg.Baguette and butter: British rider Steve Cummings won the stage, which came to a bizarre end when an inflatable arch marking the final kilometer collapsed. Adam Yates, a British rider with the Orica team, was hit by the arch and reached the finish with a bloodied chin. Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium, who was in a breakaway with Cummings, held on to the yellow jersey he claimed two days earlier. Overall favorites Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana finished in the main pack during the first stage in the Pyrenees.Plat du jour: A plate of Noir de Bigorre ham. Its one of the finest and softest cured hams in the world, made from black pigs fed with grass, cereals and acorns. Another local specialty is garbure, a mountain soup made with cabbage and chunks of ham.Culture: The Pyrenees are part of Tour de France lore but the most popular sport in the Midi-Pyrenees region is rugby, which is like a religion in many villages. The most-titled club in France, Stade Toulousain, has won a record 19 French Championship titles plus four European Cups.Vin du jour: Jurancon Sec is a dry white wine produced in the foothills of the Pyrenees with Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng grapes grown on mountain slopes then carefully hand-picked by local winemakers. Its a richly-flavored wine with floral aromas and a well-balanced acidity.Stat of the Day: 1. The complete peloton of 198 riders started the stage. It was the first time in 103 editions of the Tour de France that the entire bunch was still racing this late.Quote of the Day: I had no time to react. Its a good thing it was just me on my own. It could have been a lot worse with the peloton sprinting at 70 kph (45 mph). Adam Yates, after getting hit by an inflatable arch.Dessert: The spit cake, or gateau a la broche, has been baked in southwestern France for centuries in wood burning ovens. The traditional recipe with flour, eggs, butter, sugar, salt, rum and vanilla is quite simple but requires patience as the dough needs to be dribbled very slowly over the spit.Next order: Stage 8 on Saturday is a much more challenging 184-kilometer (114-mile) leg from Pau to Bagneres-de-Luchon featuring four serious climbs, beginning with the Col du Tourmalet, which is so difficult its labeled beyond classification. Basket Adidas Nmd Homme Pas Cher . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. Fausse Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Pas Cher . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. http://www.basketnmdpascher.fr/pas-cher-basket-nmd-blanche.html . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. Adidas Nmd Pas Cher Chine . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. Human Race Noir . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. ARLINGTON, Texas-- Immediately after Canelo Alvarez retained the middleweight championship by brutally knocking out Amir Khan in May, he invited an interested spectator into the ring.Unified titleholder Gennady Golovkin climbed through the ropes and while there was no confrontation between the two fighters, Alvarez made it clear that he, too, wanted what fans have been demanding -- a title unification fight with GGG that looms as the biggest event in boxing.With Golovkin standing a few feet away from him, Alvarez explained when asked in his post-fight HBO interview with Max Kellerman why he invited GGG into the ring.Like we say in Mexico, we dont f--- around, Alvarez said through translator. I dont fear anyone. We dont come to play in this sport. I dont fear anyone in this sport.With his machismo oozing, Alvarez made it clear that Golovkin -- his mandatory challenger by virtue of his interim belt -- would be next and he reiterated his stance at the post-fight news conference. So did Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, who said he would call Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler the next day to begin negotiations, adding that he hoped Loefflers cell phone would be on.Yet the fight was not made -- not even close. And it was not because of Golovkin, who has been chasing Alvarez and is under no delusions about which fighter was the A-side of the promotion.There was no real negotiation. Instead, Alvarez, the lineal middleweight champion (albeit fighting at his preferred catchweight of 155 pounds), gave up his alphabet title and left Golovkin, who was elevated to full titleholder and now owns three major belts, and fans around the world out in the cold.De La Hoya and Loeffler said they made an informal agreement that they would negotiate the fight to take place in September 2017 while Alvarez, bashed by fans for what has been perceived as an outright duck of GGG, elected to return to junior middleweight, where he once held unified titles. Instead of the megafight with Golovkin, Alvarez will challenge Englands little known 154-pound titlist Liam Smith on Saturday night (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at AT&T Stadium.The fight is on Mexican Independence Day weekend and has already sold more tickets than the two Manny Pacquiao fights the stadium hosted in 2010, according to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who also owns the stadium. That means a crowd of more than 50,000. Alvarez, one of boxings biggest stars, would draw a crowd to fight anyone, but just imagine the hype, crowd and pay-per-view bonanza for a Golovkin fight.Alas, it remains on hold and a distant prospect. Golovkin traveled to London last week and knocked out welterweight titlist Kell Brook in the fifth round and is expected back in the ring Nov. 26. If Alvarez beats Smith -- and he is a massive favorite to do so -- he is expected back in the ring Dec. 10 as they continue to circle each other.Golovkin, 34, the Santa Monica, California-based Kazakhstan native, wants the fight as soon as possible. Alvarez, 26, of Mexico, and his team are in no rush, claiming Alvarez needs time to build himself into a true 160-pounder.Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) has been forced to repeatedly defend his choice of Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs), 28, who has made two successful title defenses and scored eight knockouts in a row but has never faced a top opponent and is unknown outside of England.Just because Smith isnt very well-known in the U.S. doesnt diminish how tough he is as an opponent, Alvarez said. We expect him to be very powerful, and we are training for that.Despite the heavy criticism by fans and media for dodging Golovkin, Alvarez said he is ignoring it.Yeah, you know, theres always gooing to be critics, he said.dddddddddddd Theyre always there, and its something thats part of it. Its part of the business. Obviously, theres good critics sometimes and theres bad critics. But the most important thing is it doesnt faze me. It doesnt faze me. Thats fine, Im used to it now, and Ive got to do whats best for my career.When De La Hoya was an active fighter during his Hall of Fame career, he had a sterling reputation for fighting all the top fighters of his time and never ducking anyone. But he has been as responsible as anyone for Alvarezs career direction -- perhaps, as many have suggested, as a way to protect his companys cash cow.Its basically the teams decision, you know? I mean, Canelo knows his body, De La Hoya said. His trainers know his body, and the bottom line is Canelo is a 154-pound fighter. The fact that he fought at 155, people expect him to go up and fight at middleweight, and thats not the case. Hes a 54-pounder, and hes going to go up to 160 when his body feels ready.People will always talk and will always want the very best when you are on top of the world, and thats what Canelo is right now. Hes on top. He is the star fighter in boxing, and people want him to fight the very best. And he has always fought the very best. And fighting a Golovkin is going to be no exception. Hes going to fight him, but when hes ready to move up to 160.De La Hoya and Alvarez both insist the fight will happen a year from now. De La Hoya said he and Loeffler may not have a formal deal but that they will make one.As of today, Canelo is a 154-pound fighter. He only fought for a middleweight championship because fans wanted a fight with Miguel Cotto, and Canelo delivered by winning that fight convincingly, De La Hoya said of the November 2015 fight. I have been clear that Canelo will fight Golovkin at 160 pounds and we have a verbal agreement to do it in the fall of 2017. But in the meantime, Canelo is going to build up to being a true middleweight. The plan is to face Smith, a big, bruising 154-pounder, and if Canelo emerges victorious, to start making his way up to 160 pounds and fight Golovkin on equal turf (in terms of weight).De La Hoya then laid out his plan.We envision Canelo doing a third fight in 2016 either at or close to the middleweight limit and then a fight (in May) on Cinco De Mayo at 160 before facing Golovkin in the fall, De La Hoya said. I know Canelo-Golovkin is the biggest fight to make, the fighters know its the biggest fight to make and the fans know its the biggest fight to make. Everyone agreed that a fight for the middleweight championship should take place at the middleweight limit and once Canelo builds up to that weight, the fight will be on.In the meantime, we are hopeful and confident that Canelo will continue to perform at a level that has led to back-to-back knockouts of the year over James Kirkland and Amir Khan and when his body is ready, GGG should look out.Until then, De La Hoya is focused on promoting the fight with Smith and on Alvarez winning another title Saturday.Look, people always say Ive been running from that fight (with Golovkin), Alvarez said. I wanted to make it clear to people that I dont run from anyone. I always fight the best. But the fight against Golovkin didnt happen because of negotiations. ?Theyre very difficult for such a big fight.That fight will happen when its supposed to happen. Now we have the 154-pound titleholder, Liam Smith. Obviously, hes not as big a name here in the United States, but we know how dangerous he is. 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