Pick It: Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga
When to Watch: Saturday, September 14.
The pay-per-view broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST).
The free preliminary broadcast begins at 6 p.m. Eastern Time (11 p.m. BST).
How to watch: The pay-per-view is available on Amazon’s Prime Video, DAZN, PPV.com and via traditional cable and satellite outlets.
The free preliminary broadcast is available on Prime Video.
Why to Watch: This is a fight with three potential outcomes, which means you have at least one of these three reasons to tune in — and three reasons not to:
Perhaps you are among the many who think this is a mismatch and want to see how quickly Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) takes out Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs). After all, Berlanga has never faced opponents anywhere near Canelo’s level. Or the level of opponents Canelo beat en route to becoming undisputed super middleweight champion. Or even the tier below that, which Canelo has faced in recent outings. Berlanga seemed to approach his ceiling in recent years as he stepped up against better competition than the foes he knocked out in the first round of his first 16 fights.
Or maybe you’re wondering if Berlanga will somehow score a huge upset over Canelo, a fighter who has taken flush shots from the likes of Gennadiy Golovkin, and who has never been in trouble against that top tier of super middleweights — fighters far better than what we’ve seen from Berlanga.
Or it could be that you just want something fun while it lasts.
The question is whether any of those reasons is enough for you to part with the cost of this pay-per-view, which, in the United States at least, will be about $90 on Amazon’s Prime Video, DAZN and PPV.com.
Many of us will. Some of us won’t.
It’s hard enough to ask that price for a mismatch. It’s even more difficult given that this isn’t at all the fight that people have wanted from Canelo. This isn’t Canelo vs. David Benavidez.
However, this is still a huge event. Canelo remains one of the most popular fighters in the world.
The 34-year-old from Guadalajara is a former junior middleweight titleholder, the former middleweight champion, and the current lineal super middleweight champion — the owner of three of the four major world titles (WBA, WBC and WBO). The only reason Canelo no longer has the IBF belt is because he didn’t want to face unheralded mandatory challenger William Scull.
Berlanga is a 27-year-old from Brooklyn, and he’s had fewer pro fights (22) than Canelo has had major title fights (24). His best opponents have been the likes of Demond Nicholson, Marcelo Coceres, Steve Rolls, Roamer Angulo and Jason Quigley.
This is clearly a mismatch on paper. And this clear mismatch is on pay-per-view.
On the pay-per-view undercard:
Erislandy Lara vs. Danny Garcia: Lara is a middleweight titleholder in a division that’s lacking depth and star power. Although he’s 41 years old, Lara has never quite had his ass kicked, and he could use a few more significant paydays before it’s time to hang his gloves up.
Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs) has otherwise had a decent career, though he hasn’t quite reached the heights that seemed within grasp.
Lara was blatantly robbed against Paul Williams in 2011. He dropped a split decision to Canelo Alvarez in 2014, perhaps done in by focusing on moving and making Canelo miss. There were wins that were sensational and there were those that were unwatchable.
Finally, when Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired, Lara was upgraded from the WBA’s secondary titleholder to its primary. He fell short in a unification bout with Jarrett Hurd in 2018, losing a razor-thin split decision in one of that year’s best fights. Lara also fought to a draw with Brian Castano in 2019.
Lara moved up to middleweight in 2021, won the WBA’s secondary belt and then was upgraded when Gennadiy Golovkin vacated the primary title in 2023. In his last appearance, Lara knocked Michael Zerafa out in two rounds in March. Those are the only two rounds Lara has fought in 27 months.
Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) has also been rather inactive. This will be his first fight in 25 months, though Garcia says that time off has been good for him. The 36-year-old from Philadelphia is a former lineal junior welterweight champion and also won a world title at welterweight.
Garcia became the lineal champ at 140 when he defeated Lucas Matthysse with a close but clear unanimous decision in 2013. By the end of 2015, Garcia had moved up to 147, and he picked up the vacant WBC belt in 2016 with a decision over Robert Guerrero. Garcia lost that title in his second defense, receiving the short end of a split decision against Keith Thurman in 2017.
Since then, Garcia has stopped Brandon Rios and lost a decision to Shawn Porter for a vacant title in 2018, knocked out Adrian Granados in 2019, outpointed Ivan Redkach to start 2020 but lost to Errol Spence at the end of the year, and then defeated Jose Benavidez Jr. in July 2022.
Garcia vs. Benavidez was at junior middleweight. Lara vs. Garcia is for a middleweight title but has a contractual catch-weight of 157 pounds.
While there isn’t much going on at 160, Garcia could conceivably use the victory to insert himself into the mix at 154, where there’s far more talent and intrigue.
Caleb Plant vs. Trevor McCumby: Plant is a former super middleweight titleholder who has lost two of his last three and needs a win if he is to remain viable against any 168-pounders not named Canelo Alvarez. McCumby is an unbeaten prospect who’s never fought anyone on Plant’s level and would like to use this fight to announce himself to the division.
Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) won the IBF title from Jose Uzcategui in early 2019 and made three successful defenses before being stopped by Canelo in November 2021. Plant returned in October 2022 with a big ninth-round knockout of Anthony Dirrell, then lost a clear decision to David Benavidez in March 2023.
McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs) was a light heavyweight up-and-comer who spent nearly four-and-a-half years out of the sport, from 2018 to 2023. He’d also tested positive for banned substances following a 2016 victory over Donovan George. McCumby’s fought three times since his comeback, all at super middleweight, most recently outpointing Chris Pearson in January.
Rolando Romero vs. Manuel Jaimes: It’s been a tough three-fight stretch for Romero (15-2, 13 KOs). First he was stopped by Gervonta Davis in 2022. Then Romero moved up junior welterweight and won a vacant world title — via highly controversial technical knockout — while behind on the scorecards against Ismael Barroso in 2023. Finally, this March, Isaac Cruz dethroned Romero via eight-round TKO.
This fight should serve as a confidence-booster. Jaimes is 16-1-1 (11 KOs), that loss coming by close decision in 2022 against the 8-1-2 Pedro Bernal Rodriguez. Jaimes has won four straight since.
And on the free preliminary broadcast:
Stephen Fulton vs. Carlos Castro: Fulton (21-1, 8 KOs) was formerly the #1 junior featherweight until he ran into Naoya Inoue. He is making his first appearance since that defeat 14 months ago. This bout will be in the 126-pound weight class against Castro (30-2, 14 KOs), who’s been in the process of recovering from a pair of defeats of his own, back-to-back losses in 2022 to Luis Nery by split decision and Brandon Figueroa by sixth-round TKO. The victor will land another opportunity, while the vanquished will suffer an even bigger setback than before.
Also: Welterweight Roiman Villa (26-2, 24 KOs) returns for the first time since his July 2023 knockout loss to Jaron “Boots” Ennis. Villa faces Ricardo Salas (19-2-2, 14 KOs). And junior lightweight Jonathan Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) will step in with Richard Medina (15-2, 8 KOs), whose defeats came against Raymond Ford and George Acosta.
More Fights to Watch
Wednesday, September 11: Lester Martinez vs. Joeshon James (ProBoxTV.com)
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST)
This fight between super middleweight prospects will headline in Plant City, Florida.
Martinez, a 28-year-old from Guatemala, is 18-0 (15 KOs). His last fight was in June, when he stepped up in level of opposition and passed that test, winning a wide decision over Carlos Gongora.
This will be quite a step up for James, a 26-year-old from Vallejo, California. He is 9-0-2 (5 KOs), with both of those draws coming in 2023 against fellow prospects Javier Martinez and Abilkhan Amankul. Both of those bouts were held slightly over the middleweight limit. Since then, James moved up to super middleweight last October and made quick work of 13-0 David Stevens, then dropped back down in weight to outpoint Vaughn Alexander in February.
Will Lester Martinez be too big, too good and too much? Or will James score a surprise victory over his more experienced opponent?
And on the undercard, one of the best lower-tier junior middleweights in the world will try to score another upset. Vladimir Hernandez is 15-6 (7 KOs), yet his record includes a split decision win over former titleholder Julian Williams, a majority decision over previously unbeaten Lorenzo Simpson, a close loss to unbeaten prospect Troy Isley, and a knockout of 16-2-2 Guido Schramm.
Hernandez will seek to trouble Raul Garcia (13-1-1, 11 KOs), who is returning to the ring a year after suffering his first defeat, via split decision against fellow prospect Leonardo Ruiz.
(Note: BoxingScene.com is owned by ProBox.)
Thursday, September 12: Ardreal Holmes Jr. vs. Hugo Noriega (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST)
Holmes, an undefeated junior middleweight prospect from Flint, Michigan, will be performing in front of his hometown crowd at the Dort Financial Center.
The 30-year-old is 15-0 (6 KOs). Since 2023 he has taken a split decision over 12-0 Ismael Villarreal, a cut-shortened split technical decision over 14-1 Wendy Toussaint and, in February, a second-round TKO of 10-1 Marlon Harrington.
Noriega is a 34-year-old originally from Cuba and now fighting out of Miami. He is 10-2 (5 KOs), losing decisions to welterweight prospect Damian Lescaille and junior middleweight Abass Baraou. Both of those defeats came in 2023. In March, Noriega outpointed 31-21 Saul Corral.
Friday, September 13: Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez vs. Thomas Mattice (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 8 pm. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST).
Last year, Hernandez was moments away from winning the WBC junior lightweight world title, ahead on the scorecards in the 12th round against O’Shaquie Foster. But Foster pulled out the come-from-behind victory, scoring two knockdowns in that final round and stopping Hernandez with 22 seconds remaining. Hernandez came back in May, scoring a seventh-round TKO of Daniel Lugo. That moved the 26-year-old from Mexico City to 35-2 (32 KOs).
Mattice is a 34-year-old from Cleveland who is 22-3-1 (17 KOs). In recent outings, he’s outpointed previously unbeaten Christian Tapia, stopped previously unbeaten Ramiro Cesena in the 10th round, and taken out former junior featherweight contender Cesar Juarez in eight.
They will headline at the Arena Sonora in Hermosillo, Mexico.
Friday, September 13: Steven Ray Jr. vs. Braulio Avila (Triller.TV)
The broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Ray, a 29-year-old junior lightweight, is 9-0 (8 KOs), with those wins coming against opponents with a combined record at the time of 28-101-4.
Assuming the listings on BoxRec holds up, Ray’s next foe won’t be an improvement. Avila, 38, is 3-17 (1 KO). Avila’s three victories came against opponents who were 1-1, 0-1, and 0-0.
The co-feature of this show at the Hilton Tampa Downtown in Tampa, Florida, includes 53-year-old Chevelle Hallback (34-9-2, 13 KOs), a former title challenger who you may remember for her 2011 decision loss to Cecilia Braekhus. Hallback is expected to face Melanie Shah, a 42-year-old making her pro debut.
Saturday, September 14: David Nyika vs. Tommy Karpency (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time (8:30 a.m. BST)
Nyika won a bronze medal as a heavyweight (a limit of around 202 pounds) in the 2020 Olympics representing New Zealand. As a pro, he’s fighting at cruiserweight — essentially the same weight class. In May, he defeated previously unbeaten Michael Seitz by fourth-round technical knockout to move to 9-0 (8 KOs).
Much of Nyika’s career so far has been in front of his home crowd. This fight will be at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland.
Karpency (31-8-1, 19 KOs) is a late replacement for Blake Caparello, who tested positive for a banned substance.
Karpency’s heyday was at light heavyweight, not at cruiserweight, and that heyday was a long time ago. While the 38-year-old from Western Pennsylvania has been in with a number of recognizable names at 175, he didn’t have success against almost all of them.
He lost a decision to Karo Murat in 2010, a shutout to Nathan Cleverly in 2012 and a seventh-round TKO to Andrzej Fonfara in 2012. Karpency shocked Chad Dawson via split decision in 2014, but he went on to be dispatched by Adonis Stevenson in three rounds in 2015, by Oleksandr Gvozdyk in six rounds in 2016, and by Gilberto Ramirez in four rounds in 2019. Following a second round knockout loss to Yunieski Gonzalez in 2021, Karpency stepped away for nearly three years before returning last month with a decision over 14-11-1 Joe Jones.
Saturday, September 14: Junior Younan vs. Lulzim Bajrami (StarBoxing.tv)
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, but Star Boxing has yet to announce the broadcast time.
These two undefeated super middleweights will meet at The Paramount in Long Island, New York.
Younan is a 28-year-old from Brooklyn who has competed in recent years at 168 and 175. He is 20-0-1 (12 KOs). That draw came in 2018 against Ronald Ellis, who went on to lose to familiar names such as David Benavidez, Christian Mbilli and Erik Bazinyan. Younan’s last fight was in May, when he made quick work of 26-11-2 Ricardo Luna.
Bajrami is a 26-year-old from Macedonia and now living in Hamburg, Germany. He is 9-0 (4 KOs) and has only ever fought one opponent with more wins than losses — and that foe was all of 3-0 at the time and has since gone on to compile a record of 8-5. In fact, the combined record of Bajrami’s opposition at the time he faced them is 67-286-11.
Saturday, September 14: Etinosa Oliha vs. Alexander Pavlov (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. BST).
Oliha is an unbeaten middleweight from Italy who is 20-0 (8 KOs). His past three wins have come via decision against 16-0 Julio Alamos, 16-0-2 Faton Vukshinaj and 12-7-2 Ismael Seck.
All three of those fights occurred in Germany, and that’s where Oliha will return, headlining at the AGON Sportpark in Berlin against Pavlov, a 36-year-old from Germany who is 21-3 (15 KOs).
Pavlov’s defeats came via majority decision to Vincenzo Gualtieri in 2020, unanimous decision to Marcos Nader in 2021 and sixth-round knockout to Patrick Wojcicki, also in 2021. Pavlov has won nine straight since, mostly against poor opposition, though he did stop Nader in their 2023 rematch and took out 13-0-4 Thomas Piccirillo in less than a round this April.
Saturday, September 14: Dwayne Holmes vs. Brian Cannady (BXNG TV)
The broadcast begins at 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
This show features a number of prospects from the Washington, D.C., area and will take place at Hook Hall, a beer hall and event space that your TV picks writer has been to and highly recommends — even when there aren’t fights, sanctioned or otherwise, going on.
In the main event is junior featherweight Holmes (8-0, 5 KOs), who is coming off a May split decision over 4-3-2 Juan Hernandez Martinez.
Holmes is facing Cannady (11-4, 6 KOs), whose last fight was in June 2023, when he was knocked out in two rounds by Jonathan Rodriguez.
Saturday, September 14: Joshua Jones vs. Danny Murray (Combat Sports Now)
The broadcast begins at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
This show at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia features a number of amateur and professional prospects from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Per BoxRec, the headliner is Jones (9-0-1, 3 KOs), a lightweight who outpointed 4-12-3 Ryan Schwartzberg in February.
Murray (7-7, 0 KOs) has most recently been fighting at junior welterweight and welterweight, including a four-round majority decision in January over 3-1-1 Vinnie Kirkley.
Saturday, September 14: Juan Rocha Meza vs. Eder Garcia Cova (Combat Sports Now)
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
This show is at Arena IPW in San Francisco del Rincon, Guanajuato, Mexico.
Rocha Meza (9-1-1, 4 KOs) is a bantamweight whose last fight was in March, when he stopped 9-1 Fernando Toro in three rounds.
Garcia Cova (3-3-1, 3 KOs) lost a decision in June to 3-0 Sergio Cordoba Ibanez.
Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
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