BoxingScene’s Midweek Mailbag: Your Canelo-Berlanga post-fight thoughts (and ours)
By BoxingScene staff
In this week’s mailbag, BoxingScene tackles your opinions and questions following Canelo Alvarez’s unanimous decision victory over Edgar Berlanga, talking about the fight itself and what could and should come next for both Canelo and Berlanga.
Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.
EVEN IF CANELO RETURNS TO 175, HE’LL STILL DUCK DAVID BENAVIDEZ
This cherry-picking coward [Canelo] will challenge the Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev winner so he can continue to duck the true action fight against David Benavidez.
-Nightfall
David Greisman’s response: Count me among the many who’ve long wanted to see Canelo vs. Benavidez, and who has been annoyed by Canelo’s recent slate of opponents. But you lost me when you derided a potential fight between Canelo and the winner of Bivol vs. Beterbiev.
Whoever ends that October 12 fight with their hands raised in the air will be the undisputed light heavyweight champion. Bivol and Beterbiev have accomplished far more in that division than Benavidez, who, to be fair, only arrived at 175 in June with a decision victory over Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Benavidez was otherwise the top remaining challenger at 168 after Canelo defeated the three super middleweight titleholders to become that division’s true champ.
I’d still like to see Canelo take on Benavidez, be it at 168 (if “The Monster” can even make the weight anymore) or 175. It’s wholly acceptable, however, if he skips Benavidez once again so that he can meet the Bivol-Beterbiev winner instead. Given that Bivol already has a win over Canelo, that says plenty about one of the two potential challenges that awaits.
CANELO IS RUNNING OUT OF HALF-CREDIBLE OPPONENTS AT 168
In another two to three fights, Canelo will run out of even half-credible punching bags, and people will refuse to pay for these silly shows. What is he going to do then? Grow a pair when he is even older and even more diminished?
-BrankoB
David Greisman’s response: Our team at BoxingScene was wondering something similar, discussing Canelo’s next opponent in this roundtable. I agree with you that the cupboard is running bare in terms of appealing super middleweight foes for Canelo. There is a second tier of contenders and rising prospects, but they haven’t done enough yet where I’d want to see them take on the champ.
Even Caleb Plant, the most accomplished of that second tier, should aim for the moment to be the “best of the rest” to try to prove that those contenders are pretenders. Beyond Plant? We’ve got the likes of Munguia, Berlanga, Diego Pacheco, Christian Mbilli, Osleys Iglesias, the winner of Vladimir Shishkin vs. William Scull, Lester Martinez, Trevor McCumby, and a potential move up from Jermall Charlo whenever Charlo is physically and mentally ready to return to the ring. I’d rather see all of those guys face each other.
What happened is that Canelo became the undisputed champion by plowing through the three top names (Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, Plant) but never quite cleaned out the division. Instead, he froze out David Benavidez in particular, as well as David Morrell. Both Davids have gone on to 175.
That leaves the remaining names, none of whom seems as thrilling or as challenging. Or Canelo could agree to a fight with Terence Crawford. Or he could return back up to light heavyweight to take on the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol.
Those, to me, are two of the only three fights that would intrigue me. My preference is for Canelo to face one of the three “Killer B’s” — Beterbiev, Bivol, or Benavidez
Yet Canelo is able to get away with facing the likes of Munguia and Berlanga, because his fights remain significant events. He brought in a big crowd to T-Mobile Arena for the Berlanga bout. We’ll see how well the pay-per-view did. But as long as the tickets are selling, and as long as the promoters and networks feel like they’re earning enough money for Canelo’s fights, they’re not going to pressure their cash cow to do something he doesn’t want to do.
Canelo is essentially in the “retirement tour” phase of his career where he’s focusing more on money. The problem is he’s doing that while also still proclaiming himself to be one of the best in the world, yet he’s sidestepping the additional expectations and responsibilities that come with being king.
My buddy Abraham Gonzalez of FightsATW.com believes that Canelo’s next step could be to take his tour on the road. As Abe told me, a fight between Canelo and Chris Eubank Jr. in the United Kingdom would be disappointing for a ton of us, and yet it would do huge business at Wembley Stadium.
I hope Abe is wrong. But I wouldn’t be surprised if his prediction comes true.
WHY DIDN’T BERLANGA PRESS THE ACTION MORE?
I don’t understand how you can have that level of size, youth and strength advantage and not press the action. I have no idea what Berlanga thought he was doing by retreating to the ropes and corners.
-Oldskoolg
Lucas Ketelle’s response: So why did Edgar Berlanga spend a good chunk of Saturday night’s fight backing up against the seemingly smaller Canelo Alvarez? The answer is both straightforward and layered.
In a nutshell, Berlanga wasn’t strong or quick enough to counter Alvarez’s superior skills and experience. On the flip side, Alvarez wasn’t too old, small or slow to be beaten by youth alone. That is the answer.
Berlanga made attempts to adjust. Initially, his confidence was high, but once he got dropped, his attitude shifted — maybe he was just trying to survive, but he didn’t completely throw in the towel either. His second strategy was to get gritty, using headbutts and late punches. Alvarez, however, met him with equal aggression, rendering that plan ineffective.
Next, Berlanga tried the classic outgunned approach: relying on power and timing rather than speed, and lowering his output to try and land a big shot. He positioned himself on the ropes, hoping to catch Alvarez with a right hand or another decisive blow if Alvarez overcommitted. But Alvarez, knowing this was Berlanga’s only chance, wasn’t about to give him that opportunity.
Berlanga was fully aware of what was unfolding but either lacked the physical tools, the experience in such a high-stakes fight, or simply struggled to adjust to the moment against a high-level opponent. Yet credit where it’s due — he stuck it out and fought through. He did what he thought could work, and to his credit, it got him through the fight, defying many doubters in the process who didn’t think he could see the final bell.
CANELO IS SUCCEEDING DESPITE A LACK OF ONE-PUNCH POWER
Canelo has just never had power at this weight. He has to hit opponents a ton of times to stop them (Caleb Plant). And the fact that opponents can take his power means they are less cautious and land more of their own. Canelo was always a 40% power-based fighter with those big, bludgeoning shots he’d send through.
He’s doing great, though, considering this and his age. Canelo is the best fighter of our age. So many huge fights, and he’s still beating younger guys in his decline.
We saw exactly the same thing with David Benavidez when he went up in weight. Suddenly the monster wasn’t the same.
-Roberto Vasquez
Owen Lewis’ response: I hear your point on Canelo’s power — aside from a few highlight-reel KOs, he’s never been a one-punch guy. That said, if our standard for a lack of power is “has to hit opponents a lot of times to get a stoppage,” I’ve got news for you: save Naoya Inoue and the biggest-punching heavyweights, hardly anybody has that kind of power.
Canelo’s brand of it is certainly sneaky, manifesting only in single knockdowns recently, but there’s a reason few fighters come directly at him. Those shots hurt, and the quickness of his counters clearly scares his opponents. Unless you have a Golovkin-level chin, Canelo’s power can knock you out, and if it doesn’t, it’s still plenty capable of forcing you to abandon your offense to avoid getting slept.
So many of Canelo’s opponents tasted that first hard counter and fought the rest of the fight on the back foot. If he didn’t have power, we’d see far more fighters assaulting him with body shots or marching forward in the championship rounds.
As for Canelo’s age, I think we sometimes treat him with kid gloves. He’s only recently turned 34. He was 31 years old when he last fought a truly risky opponent in Bivol, back in May 2022. Meanwhile, Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk are recording arguably career-best victories at 36 and 37. Usyk, to me, is giving Canelo a real run for his money for Fighter of the Generation. Usyk’s career may be shorter and narrower than Canelo’s, but he’s also never lost, never ducked a rival, never had to serve a suspension for testing positive for a PED, and continues to seek the best possible opponents (he’s saying he’d fight Joshua for a third time, for God’s sake) and has won his biggest fights as the B-side.
By the end of their careers, I expect Crawford and Inoue to have arguments as the best of the bunch as well. Canelo has been, and remains, a sensational fighter, but beating the likes of Berlanga — a +1000 underdog at DraftKings — doesn’t raise his stock.
BERLANGA IMPRESSED WITH HIS LOSS TO CANELO?
I give Berlanga more props than I gave him before. Now that Berlanga vs. Plant fight looks interesting.
-Boxingitis
David Greisman’s response: To me, Berlanga after Canelo is essentially where he was before Canelo. We still want to see how he fares against the other contenders and prospects.
Berlanga wasn’t exactly embarrassed in his loss to Canelo. But he wasn’t really elevated by it either. He didn’t get blown away. He didn’t blow me away. Berlanga intentionally didn’t do what he does best, because focusing on being a puncher would’ve turned him into a knockout victim. Instead, Berlanga opted for an approach that isn’t at all what he does best, but he and his team understandably opted for caution given Canelo’s considerable abilities.
However, Berlanga is now richer than he was before and has created greater awareness of his name. That may make it easier for fights to be made against the other names in the 168-pound division.
I don’t anticipate that Berlanga will take on a notable foe in his next outing if he is indeed to return in February and in Puerto Rico, something Eddie Hearn is considering. But while we wait for Canelo to select his next fight, it’ll be good if the other puzzle pieces at 168 continue to come together.
TURKI ALALSHIKH IS GETTING UNFAIRLY CRITICIZED
Lately, every article that mentions Turki Alalshikh also intimates Saudi Arabia;’s lack of moral intention, as if to purposely dsefine Turki’s contribution to boxing by his country’s politics.
Conversely, when writing about Bob Arum, nobody feels the need to bring up the U.S. government’s threats to the newly exlected Mexican presidnet because she intends to remove corrupt judges on the Exxon-Mobil payrtoll.
Not once did the article mention that Turki put on the best back-to-back match-ups in a decade.
-Factsarenice
David Greisman’s response: First, thank you for your response to last week’s mailbag. Your comment is in reference to a letter, and our response, about the idea of a Saudi-owned boxing league.
There are a few important things missing from your comment, however.
First and foremost: Turki Alalshikh’s entry into boxing is on behalf of, and funded by, Saudi Arabia. Alalshikh is chairman of the board of directors of the General Entertainment Authority, which is part of the Saudi government. Sela, which is often listed as co-promoting the Riyadh Season events, is owned by the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
Alalshikh is not just a promoter from Saudi Arabia. He is a promoter for Saudi Arabia. Top Rank, run by Bob Arum, is a private company that does not officially represent, and is not funded by, the United States government.
Yes, we can enjoy getting the big fights we wanted, and also some of the fights we didn’t know we wanted. But we must also recognize how unlikely it is that Riyadh Season and its backers are profiting from them. Not financially, at least.
That brings us back to the “why” of it all. When we bring up sportswashing, it is because Saudi Arabia — via Alalshikh and the related entities — is funding sporting events, and investing in leagues, with a primary goal of distracting from the ongoing narrative about the country’s leadership.
Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select comments from other BoxingScene stories.
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