This Saturday could be the beginning of the end of Mexican great Canelo Alvarez’s career if Edgar Berlanga knocks him out at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
(Credit: Rey Del Rios/Premier Boxing Champions)
Canelo is nearing 35, hasn’t looked good in years, and is facing his first big puncher since his trilogy against Gennadiy Golovkin. Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) has kept his career going with bandaids, feasting on lesser opposition in his last four fights since losing to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022.
Losing to the 27-year-old underdog Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), who no one expects to win, would signal that Canelo needs to hang up the gloves. Canelo will insist on a rematch if he’s beaten by Berlanga, especially if he loses by a knockout on Saturday. But if Canelo gets beaten a second time by Berlanga, that would be the end of his career.
The Mexican superstar Canelo has too much pride to hang around and winds up as an old trial horse for the young contenders to use to pad their records and increase their fame by beating a faded star.
Canelo would continue to make money fighting the young lions, but his paydays would slowly diminish with each defeat. Ultimately, it would be wretched, with Canelo winding up looking like Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., and Mike Tyson, trotting out for paydays but taking losses and ruining his legacy.
“If he can overcome all those odds and all that adversity, he could be the one to finish Canelo just because of the age and the miles he has on him,” said Chris Mannix to the DAZN Boxing forum, discussing the possibility of Edgar Berlanga sending Canelo Alvarez into retirement.
“Berlanga says his mission is not just to beat Canelo but to retire him. Could a loss to Edgar Berlanga be the end of the line for Canelo Alvarez? Theoretically, I think he could. It wouldn’t be after one fight.
“If Edgar Berlanga knocks out Canelo Alvarez, there will be a rematch. It’s that simple. In May 2025, there will be a rematch. It’ll be a massive event because of the first fight, but there will be a second fight between these two guys. If Berlanga did it twice, it’s probably the end of Canelo,” said Mannix.
A rematch between Canelo and Berlanga would be massive under those conditions, perhaps the biggest of his career, because fans would be interested in seeing if this is the final fight of his career.
“Canelo right now is in his mid-30s, and had a long career. No one expects it to happen. The odds are staggering in favor of Canelo Alvarez, but if Berlanga beats him twice, that’s the end. That’s a wrap.” said Mannix.
Canelo looked like a 40-year-old in his fight against Jaime Munguia last May. He struggled in the second half of the contest against a guy who would be obliterated by many of the super middleweights in the division. Watching how poor Canelo looked against Munguia was jarring, and it was clear later why he chose to fight Berlanga instead of one of the young talents like David Benavidez.
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