Tonight, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Unified super middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) will take on the very hungry WBA mandatory challenger, Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs).
A fight that promises fireworks on Mexican Independence Weekend. Berlanga has the bravado, does he have the skills to defeat Canelo? Edgar claimed throughout the week that he intends to knock Canelo out in the 6th round. Canelo made a similar statement claiming the fight would not go past the 8th.
Edgar Berlanga is a fighter who started his career on a hot streak with sixteen 1st round knockouts, but has since tanked after scoring just one knockout in his last six fights.
To achieve a 6th round knockout against Padraig McCrory in February this year. In that match similar to his fight against Alexis Angulo, where he tried to bite Angulo’s ear out of frustration. Edgar Berlanga elbowed McCrory in the third round.
Berlanga was suspended for six months and fined $10,000 for this incident against Angulo. This brings Berlanga’s temperament into question, will he stay even against Canelo Alvarez? He faces the unified super middleweight champion, arguably one of the best in the sport. He had never faced competition at the elite level before.
Canelo is sure to be challenging and demonstrate a skill level that Berlanga has never faced before. Berlanga’s frustration can lead him to questionable behavior – throwing elbows and low blows.
Berlanga said during press week conferences that he intends to be smart and lead his attack by jabbing and boxing from a distance. In the few games he used this approach, Berlanga did not look impressive.
In his match against Marcelo Coceres, he took a 9th round knockdown and Angulo landed several big shots in their match, giving Berlanga a bloody nose. If Berlanga cannot defend effectively, he will be heavily punished. Canelo has one of the highest power punch percentages in the sport at 46.3 percent.
Surprisingly, Canelo has a higher output than Berlanga with a 41 to 37.6 average punches thrown per round respectively (Compubox). A defensive approach by Berlanga will only reduce his output.
Canelo Alvarez aims to continue his reign as the super middleweight king. Before him is another hungry fighter who wants to make history and take his crown. Canelo has faced this before; if Berlanga chooses to box, Canelo can adapt.
If Berlanga decides to stay in the pocket and trade with Canelo, he will make him pay. So far, Canelo has shown that he has a granite chin. Berlanga has good power, but it has never been tested at the elite level.
Berlanga claims to have a good boxing IQ, but his temperament will be tested. How will he adapt to Canelo’s power and deceptive speed? In his May fight against Jaime Munguia, Canelo stated that he could see Munguia’s punches coming, causing him to miss several times.
Berlanga has struggled against counters in the past, landing several big punches in his matches against Angulo, Coceres, McCrory and Jason Quigley. If he can’t defend Canelo’s power punches, it could be a short night for Berlanga.
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