Canelo Alvarez showed off some early training footage today of him preparing for his title defense against Edgar Berlanga in seven weeks on September 14th. Their clash will be on DAZN and PBC on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Canelo’s Training Focus and Fan Reactions
Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) looked good in working on the heavy bag, focusing on his power shots for a war with the hard-hitting Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs). Canelo, 34, has been stripped of his IBF title for failure to defend against his mandatory William Scull.
So, instead of Canelo having four titles at stake for his fight with Berlanga, there will be three. He’s at the stage of his career where he’s above belts and no longer needs them.
It’s a big step up for the New Yorker Berlanga, who has been fighting second-tier opposition his entire career. He recently beat a couple of British fighters with top 15 rankings, Padraig McCrory and Jason Quigley, but they weren’t actual top-tier fighters.
They were ranked in the top 15, but talent-wise, they were 25-50. Berlanga’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is like a vulture in selecting vulnerable prey for his fighters. Hearn is like a bird of prey when selecting opposition for his fighters.
It would have been better if Berlanga had fought a high-grade opponent to validate him in the eyes of the public, but it would have been risky, and he’s chasing “the bag,” as he puts it. Hearn invested money in Berlanga, and he wasn’t about to mess that up by matching him against a talented fighter.
This is an excellent fight for as long as it lasts because Berlanga has a lot of power, and he’s not a fighter known for his boxing skills. It’s the 27-year-old Berlanga’s big chance to get his name on the map by pulling off Canelo’s upset, but he will have to perform excellently to do that.
Fans on social media were critical of Canelo for not moving the heavy bag with his punches today, as they were expecting him to be moving it around more with each shot. What Canelo did during the workout was focus on speed and not try to destroy the bag with each shot.
“It’s a good fight, but it’s one that’s winnable for Canelo, unlike the other ones. Morrell and Benavidez, not only do I think he doesn’t win, but I don’t even think they’re close anymore,” said boxing expert Paulie Malignaggi to ProboxTV, talking about Canelo Alvarez choosing to fight the lesser fighter Edgar Berlanga on September 14th rather than the more dangerous ones.
Malignaggi is going for the throat here with his Canelo comments. It would have been great if he chose Benavidez or Morrell for his September 14th title defense, but those aren’t the type of fighters anyone would face on seven weeks’ notice.
I don’t blame Canelo for choosing Berlanga because there wasn’t enough time for him to prepare for Benavidez or Morrell. With Berlanga, Canelo will be more than ready for him in seven weeks because he is not on the same level as those fighters.
“I think Berlanga can be competitive in this fight, but it’s a fight that Canelo can win, and he’ll probably be favored to win, especially on the West Coast,” said Malignaggi.
“I suppose it’s better than getting your a** kicked on Mexican Independence Day and competing against the UFC because that’s what would happen if he fought Benavidez and Morrell. So, at least there’s a better chance of him winning here.”
Berlanga’s Size Advantage
You can’t count out Berlanga in this fight because he’s got the youth and power, and he’s huge for the 168-lb division. Berlanga is arguably a light heavyweight who can still drain down to fight at 168.
He’ll have a massive size advantage against Canelo on September 14th, and if he comes out quickly, as he did against his last opponent, Padraig McCrory, last February, he has a chance of pulling off an upset.
Berlanga is a weight bully at super middleweight and should be fighting at light heavyweight along with Benavidez and Morrell.
I can understand why Berlanga chooses to stay at 168. He can have a size advantage against the smaller opposition, and the money is good with him getting picked out by Canelo for a title shot that he doesn’t deserve. But once this fight is over, Berlanga should consider moving up to where he belongs, at 175, given that he’s not likely to get a rematch unless he pulls off an upset.
His career will head down the drain if he stays at 168 and gets cooked by the talented contenders.
“We’ll see because I’m not sure the Puerto Rican fan base has that appeal on the West Coast. I have not really noticed it like that. They’re not that kind of fan base. They’re a huge, great fan base when you’re in town, but a big West Coast fan base,” said Malignaggi about Berlanga’s fans not likely to travel from the East Coast in New York to Las Vegas to see him fight Canelo.
Canelo-Berlanga will still likely sell out at the T-Mobile, even without Berlanga’s Puerto Rican fans traveling across the country from New York to watch him fight. There are enough Canelo fans for the venue to be jam-packed on September 14th.
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