Las Vegas, Nevada – Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) continues his super middleweight championship run by defeating another hungry lion in Edgar Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs).
Canelo put on a masterful performance in front of a sellout crowd of 20,312 at the T-Mobile Arena. Berlanga played it safe by boxing Canelo on the outside instead of trading him on the inside like he said he would during the lead up to the fight.
He predicted that he would knock Canelo out by the 6th round. Canelo scored a third-round knockout with a vicious left hook that sent Berlanga to the canvas. Berlanga survived the round and the match and finally got recognition from the crowd for his valiant effort. The pro-Canelo crowd applauded his efforts at the end of the bout.
Canelo outclassed Berlanga in every category, landing more jabs and power punches. He landed an astounding 49.1 percent of his power shots, proving he can still perform at a high level. Berlanga did not have an effective defense to stop Canelo’s attack.
Canelo was able to land with precision. Berlanga’s output consisted largely of his pitching, throwing 260 but landing just a paltry 20.8 percent of them. His striking was ineffective and didn’t really do Canelo any real damage (Compubox).
In the post-fight press conference, Canelo said that he will take some time to rest and think about his next opponent. Turki Alalshikh and Terence Crawford called Canelo out of the Sphere last night and said they were ready for him. When pressed about Terence Crawford, Canelo simply had no comment.
Canelo said that if he does move up to 175 pounds, he will only do so to fight Dmitry Bivol and no one else. Another possible option for Canelo is to face the new IBF super middleweight champion, whoever that may be. There is no current champion.
Canelo was stripped of the belt for not facing the mandatory IBF number one contender, William Scull. The prestige of becoming an undisputed champion might entice him again.
We’ll have to wait and see who wins the Canelo sweepstakes. Many would love the opportunity to win a multimillion-dollar payday. Terence Crawford, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant and Dmitry Bivol have all expressed interest in fighting Canelo.
To the displeasure of many, Canelo can pick and choose who he faces next. For Edgar Berlanga, although he lost, his star power rose. His valiant effort earned him the respect of the fans, and they will want to see more of him in the future. The best options for Berlanga are previous Canelo opponents Caleb Plant or Jaime Munguia.
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