Las Vegas, Nevada – Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) continues his reign as super middleweight champion by defeating another hungry lion in Edgar Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs).
Canelo put on a professional performance in front of a sellout crowd of 20,312 at T-Mobile Arena. Berlanga played well punching Canelo on the outside instead of trading with him on the inside as he said he would before the fight.
Predicting that he will knock out Canelo in the 6th round. Canelo hit a highlight reel in the third round with a nasty left hook that sent Berlanga into a frenzy. Berlanga survived the round and the match and finally earned the respect of the crowd for his heroic effort. The crowd supporting Canelo applauded his efforts at the end of the match.
Canelo outclassed Berlanga in every round, landing plenty of jabs and power punches. He scored an impressive 49.1 percent of his power, showing that 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 jab, throwing 260 but landing a low 20.8 percent of them. His attacks were ineffective and failed to cause Canelo any real damage (Compubox).
In the post-fight press conference, Canelo said he will take some time off to think about his next opponent. Turki Alalshikh and Terence Crawford called Canelo last night from the Sphere, saying they are ready for him. When pressed about Terence Crawford, Canelo remained silent.
Canelo said that if he moves up to 175 pounds, he will only do so to fight Dmitry Bivol and no one else. Another possibility is for Canelo to face the new IBF super middleweight champion, whoever it is. There is no current champion.
Canelo was stripped of the belt for failing to face the first IBF challenger, William Scull, who was forced to. The reputation of being the undisputed champion may attract him again.
We’ll have to wait and see who wins the Canelo sweepstakes. Many would love a chance to win a million dollar payday. Terence Crawford, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant, and Dmitry Bivol have all expressed interest in fighting Canelo.
To the chagrin of many, Canelo can pick and choose who he will face next. For Edgar Berlanga, despite his defeat, his star power has risen. His heroic effort earned the fans respect, and they will want to see more of him in the future. The top options for Berlanga are former Canelo opponents Caleb Plant or Jaime Munguia.
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