LAS VEGAS – Canelo Alvarez swang with ferocity, roared with intensity and flexed his superior talent to punish Edgar Berlanga with a full variety of powerful shots Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
In front of a sellout crowd of 20,312, Alvarez’s effort generated a second entertaining dismissal of a younger, stronger contender to retain the WBC, WBA and WBO super-middleweight belts.
“Now what are they gonna say?” Alvarez said in the ring afterward. “They say I don’t fight young fighters. They always talk. But I’m the best fighter in the world.”
Yet, it wasn’t the knockout finish he sought, and it left those who watched wondering whether the 34-year-old Alvarez will return up in weight for his ultimate fighting glory or if he’ll keep things light.
Instead of landing his desired 40th career knockout, Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) was left to find contentment with a unanimous-decision victory over Brooklyn’s Berlanga (22-1) by scores of 117-110, 118-109, 118-109.
Yes, a third-round knockdown came when Mexico’s Alvarez sent a precise left hook to the chin of the fighter with Puerto Rican bloodlines, but as Berlanga sat there on the canvas banging his gloves together in disappointment, he chewed down on his mouthpiece and refused to go down again.
“I know I took his best shot in the third round and told myself I’m not meant to be down,” Berlanga said. “Got dropped, came back. That was the best he gave me, so I said, ‘You know what? I’ll go take his punches and return them.’”
Alvarez said he will take some time to relax with his family and then decide which path to pursue.
He could connect with Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh and move toward the powerbroker’s bout of choice against fellow four-division champion Terence Crawford, even though the competitiveness of that bout is suspect given that the 37-year-old Nebraskan would need to move up 14 pounds.
Although Crawford called out Alvarez Saturday night, Alvarez refused to give him or Alalshikh any attention.
“No comment,” he said of the pair.
Alvarez could also choose from the unbeaten mandatory opponents at 168 pounds, Diego Pacheco, age 23, or Christian Mbilli.
Or, he may chase the stiffest tests of going after the new undisputed light-heavyweight champion, with Russia’s Dmitrii Bivol and Artur Beterbiev fighting for that crown Oct. 12 in Saudi Arabia, or perhaps revisiting a showdown with unbeaten former 168-pound champion David Benavidez.
He won’t visit Saudi Arabia to watch Bivol-Berterbiev, calling it a “50-50 fight,” and preferring Bivol wins so he can consider a revenge fight following his 2022 decision loss to the unbeaten WBA champion.
Against Berlanga, the pair exchanged low punches in a couple rounds. On another occasion, Alvarez punched Berlanga in the head off a break after feeling he’d rfeceived a head butt. And the pair had to be separated by referee Harvey Dock for arguing over the physicality
“I got a little angry with his tactics, but I’m Mexican, man,” Alvarez explained.
Overall, Alvarez assessed he didn’t feel an edge of satisfaction stripped away because he didn’t get the finish.
“I’m very happy, I feel good. I did what I’m supposed to do: I won the fight,” he said. “I’m satisfied. It was a fun night, like another night at the office. I love boxing. You could see that tonight.”
When pressed on the knockout absence, he said, “What are 12 rounds for? For showing who is the best. I did that. The knockout is special. I did what I needed to win the fight.
“(Berlanga) didn’t fight like he used to fight. He defended himself a little more. That’s why what happened happened, but I did what I needed to win the fight.”
Alvarez trainer Eddy Reynoso said the performance was a success, in that Alvarez dealt with a younger, stronger, taller fighter with a greater reach and won by a wide margin.
“Canelo has come so far and he’ll go farther,” Reynoso said.
Alvarez said he has no immediate plans to fight is Saudi Arabia or London unless they “pay me more.”
Berlanga took solace in his effort, saying he was “50 per cent down and 50 per cent up” because of the learning experience he gained, comparing it to the knowledge Alvarez gained in his 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. at age 23.
“I went in there with a legend. I fought a hard fight. A guy like me – the whole world was against me – but I handled it well. That’s what Mexicans and Puerto Ricans do,” Berlanga said. “They thought I’d get knocked out in two or three rounds, but I went in there with a legend and shocked the world. It’s a stepping stone to greatness.”
Berlanga promoter Eddie Hearn’s company, Matchroom, has promoted Alvarez’s destructive triumphs of fighters including Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith and Avni Yildirim.
Watching Berlanga’s resistance was inspiring, Hearn said.
“The worry is you’re out of his depth. The rounds were competitive. The boxes he ticked: Impregnable chin that took every big shot from Canelo Alvarez,” Hearn said. “He was never really hurt. He’s disappointed, but when he drops down a level – and every fighter who’s not Canelo is a drop down – he’s going to realize the wonderful experience he had tonight while securing his family’s future.
“I see him now at the top of the 168-pound division after Canelo.”
Berlanga manager Keith Connolly said he’d can anticipate future Berlanga bouts against Mexico’s Jaime Munguia, who also went the distance with Alvarez this year, or Saturday undercard knockout winner Caleb Plant, a former 168-pound champion.
“I put the whole 168-pound division on notice,” Berlanga said, admitting that Alvarez is “an idol to me… he’s the king.
“I didn’t want to tell him (before the fight). I didn’t want to tell anyone, because I thought they’d think I’d take a knee.”
He didn’t do that.
Because of it, the boxing world wonders what Alvarez will do now.
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