By Rodolfo Roman
Miami, FL- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (61-2-2 with 39 knockouts) wants to start the Mexican celebration two days earlier with a victory over undefeated Edgar Berlanga (22-0 with 17 knockouts). Mexican independence day is September 16.
The two meet in the ring this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event will air on Prime Video PPV with the fight starting roughly around 11 p.m. ET.
The Mexican fighter will be defending his WBC, WBO and WBA super middleweight titles. The IBF super middleweight title will not be on the line after Alvarez was stripped of the title for choosing to fight Berlanga instead of the IBF’s No. 1 contender William Scull.
With an undefeated record, Berlanga, 27, is on his way towards his first shot at gold, which boxing fans have been asking for. The Brooklyn boxer is known to start off his fights explosively capturing more than 10 knockouts as a professional. He most recently knocked out Padraig McCroy in the sixth round, which has fans excited for the upcoming war.
Berlanga, as an amateur, went 162-17. This is his biggest opportunity in his career. He attempted to capture the world record for consecutive first round knockouts, but it ended in April 2021 when he was taken the full distance in his unanimous decision win against Demond Nicholson in his 17th fight.
Unlike his previous fights, the young fighter can’t walk in thinking of making Alvarez easy work as he is facing an experienced boxing with quickness, technique and power. Alvarez won’t get in a brawl early in the fight, which would benefit Berlanga.
Alvarez is too smart of a fighter to take the bait.
On the other side, only two men have defeated Alvarez, which includes legendary and undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather in 2013 and Dmitry Vibol in 2022, which was a fight Alvarez competed in a different weight class. Alvarez has fought the who’s who in the boxing world. He is the only boxer in history to become the undisputed champion at super middleweight holding this distinction until July 2024.
He last competed in May defeating Jaime Munguia in May taking home a unanimous decision victory. It has been sometime since Alvarez knocked out an opponent. The last time he obtained a TKO was against Caleb Plant in the latter paint of the fight in 2021.
To solidify his name and make himself more relevant in the sport, a knockout over Berlanga would be essential. Currently, fans have Alvarez in the picking and choosing opponents category and not giving fans the fights they want.
But, by knocking out his foe he remains the boxing world who is the top draw.
Look for Alvarez to let Berlanga throw hands, but the experienced fighter will step in to slow the pace and take control. Alvarez should take this bout by way of unanimous decision.
Then, there are several athletes in the combat world who want a piece of Alvarez and it is not Kamaru Usman.
The money fight that has interested Alvarez is against former mixed martial arts world champion the Irish “Notorious” Conor McGregor, which would be a big payday.
But before he sets his eyes on the green, he needs to get through Berlanga this Saturday to convince the combat sports world that he is the real deal.
