Canelo Alvarez is eyeing another crack at the light-heavyweight division after effectively beating a cruiserweight on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Despite agreeing to face Edgar Berlanga as a super middleweight, Canelo faced an opponent who weighed 193 pounds on fight night, according to ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez.
The broadcaster stated Berlanga piled on the pounds from weigh-in to fight night to give himself the best chance of beating boxing royalty. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, as Berlanga lost by a unanimous decision.
Rodriguez said, “I was told that Edgar Berlanga entered the ring tonight at 193 pounds, that is, 25.4 pounds above the 167.6 he weighed on Friday. The Puerto Rican won by losing.”
WBN understands Canelo was over the 175-pound light-heavyweight limit but still out-weighed massively by Berlanga. This reason alone may have been why Canelo couldn’t get the knockout despite putting the Puerto Rican on the canvas.
In a pre-fight prediction sent to the LA Times, Canelo scoring a knockout seemed to be on the cards.
“I see Álvarez going after Berlanga early due to his trash-talking during the build-up. However, if Álvarez goes too gung-ho, I can also envisage him getting caught as he does so and potentially being hurt. That initial success for Berlanga will only antagonize the Mexican superstar further. With the help of those stunning uppercuts used effectively against Jaime Munguia, I expect Álvarez to record his first knockout since 2021 in rounds five through eight.”
That didn’t happen, obviously due to Berlanga’s sheer size. He could not use his extra bulk to inflict real damage on the super middleweight champion.
CompuBox stats revealed, “Berlanga said before the fight that he wanted to go out on his shield, and he almost got his wish when Canelo landed a left hook that knocked him down a little over a minute into the third round.
“Berlanga almost matched Canelo’s punch output, but Canelo was far more accurate, landing 35% of his jabs and 49% of his power punches. Berlanga could only land 21% of his jabs and 35% of his power punches. 37% of the power punches
“Canelo landed were body punches. One judge scored the fight 117-110, and two judges scored it 118-109, all for Canelo.”
Reports suggest Canelo will challenge Dmitry Bivol in a rematch for the undisputed crown at 175 pounds if his Russian nemesis comes through compatriot Artur Beterbiev on October 12.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
