For Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the glass-half-full review of Saturday night’s victory over Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is clear enough: He won, he retained his lineal super middleweight championship, and he remains – at least as long as David Benavidez is plying his trade at light heavyweight – the unquestioned best in the 168-pound division.
The glass-half-empty review, which may be a little harsh, is that as he enters his relative dotage, his fights have become a little predictable. At some point, Alvarez will send his overmatched challenger to the canvas and seemingly be in with a shot of stopping him, but the moment will pass and he will end up going the full distance before his hand is raised in victory.
So it was against Berlanga in the main event of a PBC on Prime pay-per-view, a fight in which Alvarez once again seemed on the cusp of an early night but ended up relying on the judges. But, as with his other recent outings against Jermell Charlo, John Ryder and Jaime Munguia, Alvarez continued to land with ruthless efficiency throughout – he connected with 49 percent of his power punches – even if he no longer quite has the extra gear to provide a spectacular finish.
Importantly, he left his fans, including the 20,312 inside the T-Mobile Arena, more than satisfied and contemplating his next outing on Cinco de Mayo weekend 2025.
Alvarez made his intentions clear early on, backing Berlanga to the ropes and landing a left/right combination in the second round. Berlanga responded with a nice uppercut and then another to the belly; although he was being backed up, the Puerto Rican looked comfortable in the early going.
In the third, with his back to the ropes, Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) sent a trio of stiff jabs in Canelo’s direction, but then Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) landed a perfect left hook that spun Berlanga’s head around and dropped him to the canvas. Berlanga would up on the seat of his pants but immediately banged his fists together in frustration and returned to the battle.
The fourth saw Alvarez once more backing Berlanga to the ropes. He jabbed his foe to the body and landed a straight right hand upstairs. Then he landed a hook and right hand upstairs and a hook to the body. Berlanga jabbed as Canelo stalked.
There were frequent flashes of anger and irritation from both men, including in the fifth when Alvarez had Berlanga in a headlock and hit him in the body. But for all the tension and flashes of aggression, Berlanga was failing to impose himself on Canelo, who constantly stalked forward, constantly sought to cut off the ring and pin him to the ropes, and always searched for an angle to land another of his vaunted left hooks.
Despite the fact that he appeared to be losing pretty much every round, Berlanga, to his credit, looked comfortable and did have his moments, his output slowing increasingly as the fight progressed. A sneaky uppercut landed for the challenger in the sixth, and in the seventh he began finally to unleash his right hand.
Still, though, Alvarez was the man making the fight, and in the eighth, after not quite fully connecting with a vicious hook, he landed a big right hand and a sharp counter as Berlanga overreached with a right hand and left himself open. And all the time, Alvarez dug repeatedly to Berlanga’s body, landing 49 body punches throughout the fight, compared to just 18 for Berlanga.
The ninth was another strong round for Alvarez, as it became increasingly clear that Berlanga was not going to open up and risk a stoppage defeat in pursuit of a spectacular victory. A big right hand landed for Alvarez, and a hook and an uppercut with Berlanga pinned in a corner, followed by an overhand right to the temple.
In Round 10, there was another flashpoint, Alvarez walking away when he confused the 10-second warning clapper for the round-ending bell. Berlanga, as was his right, promptly cracked him, prompting Alvarez to yell at him in anger as his rival gestured toward him.
Berlanga threw a total of 186 power punches during the contest, 79 of them coming in the final three rounds as he finally began to commit to his offense. The two men exchanged furious punches in the championship rounds, but once again Canelo’s landed with greater frequency, accuracy and solidity. The end of the 11th saw Berlanga trapped in Alvarez’s corner, providing an opportunity for the two men to shout at each other again as the round ended and referee Harvey Dock intervened.
Despite all the apparent bad blood, when the bell rang to end the contest, the two men pulled each other into a hug and talked to each other for a full minute or two, showing each other the respect they had earned over the previous 47 minutes.
The result was in little doubt. David Sutherland saw the contest 117-110 in Alvarez’s favor, while Max DeLuca and Steve Weisfeld both saw it one round wider, at 118-109.
“I’m upset because, at the end of the day, I’m a winner,” said Berlanga afterward. “I fought a legend tonight and did my best to represent Puerto Rico. I took his best shot and I knew I could take his punches and return them. I could have jabbed a lot more, but I was in there with a legend.”
“My experience and my talent was the difference,” said Canelo. “It’s about hard work and intelligence. I did good. Now what are they gonna say? They said I don’t fight young fighters. They always talk, but I’m the best fighter in the world.”
Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcasted about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.
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