Canelo Álvarez spent his Saturday doing what he usually does around this time of year amid Mexican Independence Day weekends: taking care of business. In this case, it was a win over undefeated challenger Edgar Berlanga.
The unified super middleweight champion outclassed the undefeated challenger in a unanimous decision (117-110, 118-109, 118-109), his fifth straight title defense to go the distance.
Unlike other bouts where he needed time to build momentum, the heavily favored Álvarez had an advantage from the first bell. He calmly took the first first two rounds before flattening Berlanga with a left hook in the third. More punishment came from there, but Berlanga managed to survive.
Álvarez got better as the fight went on, but Berlanga’s trash talk remained high throughout. Berlanga had further missteps, including a warning for an intentional headbutt and a fall after swinging and missing on a power punch. He spent much of the pre-fight proceedings trying to annoy Álvarez and that continued during the bout, with Álvarez sometimes jawing back.
But in the end, Berlanga landed more words than punches. The pair at least shared a nice embrace after the final bell, with both likely knowing exactly the decision that was coming.
It was still a decent showing for Berlanga despite the loss. He built his reputation on a string of first-round knockouts, but was a massive underdog going into Saturday. Álvarez still looked a class above him, but the 27-year-old looked like he belonged by the end, and that can be a win in itself as he looks for his next opponent.
As for Álvarez, he hasn’t won via finish since stopping Caleb Plant, who won earlier Saturday, in November 2021. It might not be a great sign for how the 34-year-old is aging.
The bigger question now, though, is where Álvarez goes from here. Rising star David Benavidez might be the simplest answer, but Álvarez might still want a rematch with Dmitry Bivol, the only fighter to defeat him since Floyd Mayweather in 2013. And who knows? Maybe a super-fight against super welterweight king Terence Crawford could be out there.
Here’s how it all went down via Yahoo Sports:
