The action gets rough momentarily with Álvarez landing body shots to a defenseless Berlanga, who retaliates with a low blow. Referee Harvey Dock steps in to break up the action. Álvarez opens up
and connects a total of 14 shots compared to just seven returned by Berlanga.
The Benavidez team is still not over the whole situation.
This weekend will see Canelo Alvarez re-enter a boxing ring for the first time in four short months. Alvarez will be doing battle against Edgar Berlanga, in the biggest fight of the 27-year-old’s career.
Berlanga isn’t a bad opponent by any means, but everyone wanted to see Canelo fight David Benavidez. Not even a bout against Jermall Charlo would have appeased fans; they simply want Canelo-Benavidez. There have been conflicting reports that have come out of both camps, although most believe Alvarez is avoiding Benavidez for the time being.
As expected, Benavidez and his team will be keeping a close eye on Saturday’s fight. But somewhat surprisingly, they want to see Canelo lose; at least, according to Benavidez’s father, Jose Benavidez Sr., in an interview
It’s clear that the Benavidez team is sick and tired of Canelo not making a real effort to fight the Mexican Monster. Alvarez beating Berlanga would theoretically be good for Benavidez, as the 34-year-old would want to then fight the best of the best at 168 pounds.
That would be Benavidez, but it doesn’t seem like they have any more hope of a fight materializing at any point.
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez was once again well under the weight limit for the division he continues to rule.
The RING, WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight champion was a ripped 166.8 pounds, while challenger Edgar Berlanga was 167.6 pounds. Their Premier Boxing Champion on Prime Video Pay-Per-View headliner takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. PPV.com and DAZN will also air the a la carte event, beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Guadalajara’s Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 knockouts) was the same exact weight for his last fight at this very venue. The long-reigning super middleweight king outpointed Tijuana’s Jaime Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) on May at T-Mobile.
It marked his seventh defense of The Ring crown and fourth as undisputed champion. His fully unified reign became one belt lighter when he was forced to vacate the IBF title earlier this summer. Alvarez was mandated to face IBF No. 1 contender William Scull (22-0, 9 KOs).
He instead chose the man who will share the ring with him on Saturday night.
Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), The Ring’s No. 7-rated super middleweight, enter his first career title fight.
The unbeaten 6’1″ Nuyorican from Brooklyn has now weighed roughly the same for five straight fights. He earned this opportunity after a sixth-round knockout of undefeated Padraig McCrory in their Feb. 24 WBA title eliminator.
A clear path to Alvarez was made when David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) abandoned his WBA ‘Regular’ title reign and moved up to light heavyweight.
The knockout win over McCrory (18-1. 9 KOs) was Berlanga’s first since Dec. 2020. He scored sixteen consecutive first-round stoppages before he was forced to go the distance in five straight starts.
