‘Fighting Words’ – Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga and the stench of business

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is still the straw that stirs the drink – even when that straw is feeding us a heaping supply of piping hot sewage.

That is the bad taste in our mouth from Canelo choosing to fight Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas on pay-per-view. 

That bad taste comes even though the fight itself is not a surprise. Berlanga’s name has come up again and again, much to the chagrin of those who wanted to see Canelo fulfill the responsibilities that come with being the king of the super middleweight division, whether that’s by facing his top challenger in David Benavidez or someone else deserving.

“Deserving” can have multiple meanings in boxing.

It can be a matter of what you’ve done in the ring. And it can be a matter of what you can do with ticket sales and pay-per-view purchases. In the best-case scenario, a fighter can be doubly deserving. Their accomplishments help build the hype.

That’s not what’s happening with Berlanga. He is undefeated, yes, but he is still undeserving – at least in terms of what he’s done in the ring. Berlanga is a prospect who reached his ceiling some time ago, whose limits are clear, who hasn’t yet shown himself to be a contender, has not proven to be near the level of the other notable names in the 168-pound division.

He is not anywhere near as feted. That is why this fight is fetid. 

It is the stench of a business decision. 

Berlanga wasn’t picked for what he has done in boxing but for what he can do at the box office. He is of Puerto Rican heritage. There is a long history of fights between Mexican and Puerto Rican boxers.

The stench isn’t solely because of who Berlanga is but also because of who he isn’t. He isn’t Benavidez or David Morrell Jr. or even any of the other names ranked ahead of him who also aren’t quite ready yet for this kind of opportunity. 

But that’s not all Berlanga’s fault. This is not just about what Berlanga has failed to do himself but because of what Canelo has failed to do as well.

Canelo has failed to live up to the expectations that come with being the best fighter in a division and one of the best boxers in the entire world. When a fighter achieves what Canelo has achieved, they are expected to do more than others do, and to do it better than anyone else can.

Canelo accomplished what none of his contemporaries had done when he earned the undisputed super middleweight championship, capturing all four major world titles in less than 11 months.

He dominated Callum Smith, the consensus No. 1 guy at 168, for the WBA and WBC belts. He stopped Billy Joe Saunders in eight rounds to add the WBO. And he put away Caleb Plant in 11 rounds for the IBF. In between Smith and Saunders, Canelo also easily dispatched Avni Yildirim, an overmatched opponent who somehow was the mandatory challenger for that WBC belt.

Since then, Canelo’s approach in 2022 was understandable but wound up being underwhelming. Because of that, 2023 and 2024 have turned out to be even more disappointing. Every opponent that Canelo selects who isn’t Benavidez rubs more salt in our wounds.

Canelo deserves credit for going up to light heavyweight to challenge titleholder Dmitry Bivol in May 2022, even though Bivol outperformed Canelo and won a unanimous decision. And then Canelo wrapped up that year by wrapping up his trilogy with Gennady Golovkin. Although Golovkin was coming off a TKO win over Ryota Murata and held two world titles down at 160, the version of GGG who showed up for the third match with Canelo was a shadow of the fighter who had gone tooth-and-nail with him in the first two bouts.

Then Canelo kicked off his 2023 with his traditional Cinco de Mayo pay-per-view, fighting in Mexico for the first time in more than 11 years. His foe was John Ryder, solid but unspectacular, but also Canelo’s WBO mandatory. Canelo won wide on the scorecards. 

And then in September, it was thought that Canelo would face middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo. Amid Jermall’s struggles outside of the ring, his twin brother, Jermell, the undisputed junior middleweight champion, stepped in instead, moving up two weight classes. Alas, on fight night, Jermell seemed daunted by the difference in size and power. Canelo won handily.

And so the calls continued for Canelo to face Benavidez. 

Benavidez was young and in his prime, unlike Golovkin. Benavidez had more power, more speed, and better skills than Ryder. Benavidez was a longtime super middleweight, and indeed is bigger than Canelo and would be more offense-minded, unlike Charlo.

But Canelo went with Jaime Munguia – not the worst of picks. Though, again, not the best of the available choices. At least Munguia would try, and he’d make for a fun fight in the process. That’s what happened this past May. Canelo picked up another victory.

In February, a few weeks before Canelo vs. Munguia was officially announced for May, Benavidez, who already held the WBC’s interim title at 168, signed to face former light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC’s interim title at 175.

Benavidez could see which way the wind was blowing. Canelo wasn’t going to fight him in May, and so Benavidez could beat Gvozdyk in June and would become a mandatory challenger in two divisions – for Canelo at 168 and the winner of the upcoming Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol undisputed championship fight at 175.

(Morrell, similarly, moved up to light heavyweight to face Radivoje Kalajdzic on Saturday. Though Morrell didn’t look as spectacular against Kalajdzic as he did at super middleweight, he picked up a secondary WBA belt and became mandatory to the Beterbiev-Bivol victor. Morrell’s move up allowed the WBA to install Berlanga as Canelo’s new mandatory, a dubious maneuver given that Berlanga was ranked as low as eighth by that sanctioning body as of January but was somehow boosted much higher after beating Padraig McCrory in February.)

Last month, the WBC, which never made Canelo defend against Benavidez, forced Benavidez to choose which weight class he would continue on in. Benavidez chose light heavyweight, likely recognizing that waiting around any longer for Canelo would be a futile endeavor. 

One day later, Canelo vs. Berlanga was announced, which meant it had already been in the works, and agreed upon, prior to Benavidez’s division decision.

That’s a shame. And while the WBC must shoulder plenty of blame, so too must Canelo.

“I fight anybody,” Canelo said in September 2022. “Whether you think I don’t want to fight with Benavidez, look – I hear he’s talking a lot of shit. Look [at] what he’s accomplished. Nothing. [He’s defeated] one single champion: Anthony Dirrell. Please. Don’t disrespect myself.”

But Canelo has contradicted himself. Benavidez, an undefeated two-time world titleholder, has accomplished more at super middleweight than Ryder or Munguia or Berlanga. 

Canelo didn’t hold any of them to the same standard. 

Instead, he looks for an excuse, just like he seemed to be while calling out how many pounds Benavidez would add beyond the super middleweight limit between weigh-in and fight night, even though Canelo’s fought light heavyweights twice, and even though his own team once teased pursuing a cruiserweight title shot.

In the end, this comes down to two things: control and cash.

“You know, I fought with any fighter and I win good my money, and so I can do whatever I want at this time,” Canelo said earlier this year. “I deserve it because I did everything in my career and I deserve to be in this position. I’m going to do whatever I want.”

Canelo says he’s fought everybody, and it’s true that he’s had an impressive career. He has been a mainstay of pound-for-pound lists for good reason. He is a future Hall of Fame inductee.

But he’s still the champion – owner of three world titles after vacating the IBF belt rather than face William Scull. If Canelo’s not going to face the best fighters in his weight class, then he should part with those remaining titles.

Instead, he wants to have it both ways.

He wants to be seen as one of the best. But that recognition must be renewed regularly – earned and then maintained. A king must keep ruling his kingdom.

Facing Ryder and Jermell Charlo doesn’t suffice. Nor does taking on Munguia and Berlanga.

Canelo vs. Berlanga can’t be compared with his fight with Yildirim either. Taking that fight was essential for holding on to his WBC belt, part of his journey toward undisputed. And Canelo vs. Yildirim didn’t delay other, more important fights from happening. The top fighters of our era tend to perform twice a year. Canelo fought four times in 11 months in that span. A mere 70 days, or 10 weeks, separated Canelo’s win over Smith and Canelo’s victory over Yildirim. Canelo vs. Saunders was another 70 days after that.

Nor should Canelo vs. Berlanga be compared with Naoya Inoue’s upcoming defense against TJ Doheny.

Yes, there are more desirable fights for Inoue, including bouts with Sam Goodman (who took an in-between fight and wound up suffering an injury) or Murodjon Akhmadaliev. But Inoue already beat three of the top junior featherweights in a 10-month span. He stopped Stephen Fulton in July 2023 for two world titles, knocked out Marlon Tapales last December for the other two belts, becoming undisputed champion, and then defended this May with a TKO of a top contender, Luis Nery. A voluntary title defense is acceptable, especially when it comes just four months after Inoue’s last fight.

Canelo is no longer as driven by legacy and is now mostly motivated by money. It’s understandable. He has been a pro boxer for nearly 19 years. At the age of 34, Canelo has more time in the sport behind him than he does ahead of him.

Similar reasons are why Terence Crawford, who turns 37 next month, is far more interested in moving up to 168 to face Canelo than he is in returning to 147 to defend against Jaron “Boots” Ennis.

Crawford isn’t remaining at 147 and holding up the titles there, though.

That’s what makes Canelo’s situation so aggravating. He still wants to be seen as the best super middleweight and hold on to his WBA, WBC and WBO titles.

He was the deserving and undisputed king, but he never finished cleaning out the division. And when you don’t clean something completely, it begins to stink.

The stench is not just from Canelo’s business decision.

The stench is also from the WBC for failing to enforce Benavidez as mandatory, a business decision of its own, given how Canelo previously vacated his WBC middleweight title back in 2016 rather than deal with its deadlines for making the first fight with Golovkin. The WBC lost out on sanctioning fees from one of boxing’s biggest stars.

And the stench is from the promoters and networks that work with Canelo and are willing to make lesser fights – so long as it still makes them money.

It all comes down to business. No one wants to lose out on their cash cow.

It’s a shame that this cash cow is full of bullshit.

Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.