Canelo Alvarez weighed in at 166.8 lbs while Challenger Edgar Berlanga came in at 167.7 lbs at Friday’s weigh-in ahead of their main event fight this Saturday, September 14th on the $89.99 event, live on DAZN PPV.
This is supposed to be a mismatch in favor of WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs), but given Berlanga’s size, youth, and power (22-0, 17 KOs), we could see an upset.
This is a big puncher Canelo will be facing, and he’s not had to fight anyone with this kind of strength in a long time since his match against Sergey Kovalev in November 2019.
I dare say Berlanga is a bigger puncher than the 36-year-old Kovalev was back then because ‘The Krusher’ looked pretty old, and it took a lot out of him making weight for that fight.
Berlanga looked monstrously big compared to the 5’8″ Canelo during their face-off, and it’s pretty clear that the Mexican star has a big problem with this light heavyweight-sized fighter. Like many younger fighters, Berlanga is still capable of draining down to fight in a weight class below his size.
The guy should be up there with the 175-pounders, like Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, and David Benavidez, rather than feasting on smaller fighters at 168.
Nothing was said about Canelo inserting a hidden 10-lb rehydration clause in the contract, which means Berlanga can balloon up to 190 lbs and enjoy a massive size advantage on Saturday night. If Canelo is going to win this fight, he’s going to need to shell out during the early going while Berlanga bombards him with heavy shots that would knock a truck over.
Canelo does a good job of covering up, but Berlanga likes throwing chopping shots to the top of his opponent’s heads, and those are going to be next to impossible for the Mexican star to block.
Don’t be surprised if Berlanga knocks out Canelo because he’s got the size, power, and style to score a KO in this fight.
Pesaje oficial en Las Vegas@Canelo 166.8 – 167.6 @EdgarBerlangaJr
📺 Latinoamérica @ESPNKnockOut | @disneyplusla pic.twitter.com/4uiSzy0B5z
— Salvador Rodriguez (@ChavaESPN) September 13, 2024
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