Edgar Berlanga could win on Saturday night if he can follow Dmitry Bivol’s blueprint of defeating Canelo Alvarez with high volume punching. Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) has never been known as a fighter who throws a lot of punches, but his team studied Canelo’s loss to Bivol and they will follow his approach.
Berlanga raved about Bivol’s jabs in his win over Canelo in 2022, which he will likely try to emulate. However, he doesn’t have the gas tank to throw the number of shots that Bivol threw against Canelo.
“It’s dangerous because in my opinion you have to be active in the fight because Canelo’s output is not that great,” Eddie Hearn told Matchroom Boxingwhich discusses how Edgar Berlanga could potentially defeat Canelo Alvarez on Saturday.
“If you go back to the Bivol show. What he did so well (against Canelo) was his output was excellent. The punches in bunches, the always ready to throw and shine with 20 seconds left to win those rounds.
“You can win rounds with Canelo Alvarez, but at the same time, the more active you are, the more you put yourself under pressure to be counted or to be in range. So, you have to be smart about it too.
“I still hear people say, ‘He (Canelo) wasn’t stopped’ and ‘He wasn’t down.’ So what? What are you going to do? “Oh, we’ll forget about that tactic. Edgar is one of the biggest punchers in the world at 168. There is no doubt about it.
“Can he hurt Canelo? Everybody can get hurt, especially when you get to the back end of your career, but you have to try and put a dent in this guy,” Hearn said. “It’s easier said than done. I wouldn’t be surprised if Edgar and the team decide to box a bit and try to win some of these early rounds.”
Canelo can get hurt, but you have to hit him hard or throw a bunch of shots like Jose Miguel Cotto did when he hurt Alvarez.
“What you really want to do is get through that halfway stage in the fight, after you bank a few rounds, because he can switch off a little bit sometimes, Canelo, especially down the straight. In the John Ryder fight where he thought he was dominating, and then all of a sudden he can come back and lose rounds,” Hearn said.
Winning early rounds against Canelo is no guarantee that Berlanga will fight well enough to win the later rounds and get a decision. If anything, Canelo will fight harder if he loses the early rounds, and that will be bad for Berlanga.
