Viva Mexico: Canelo v Berlanga Preview And Prediction

The face of boxing Saul “Canelo” Alvarez returns for another much-anticipated Mexican Independence Day weekend event where he’ll defend his WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight titles against undefeated heavy hitter Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night (Sunday morning SA time), writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

5 AM Sunday SA time

Canelo Alvarez (1.04) v Edgar Berlanga (9.75) (WBC, WBA and WBO Super Middleweight Championships)

What’s a Mexican Independence Day weekend without the country’s biggest boxing star and the face of the sport worldwide competing in a marquee fight?

Yes, Mexican megastar Canelo is back eager to entertain and continue his dominance of the 168-pound division.

One of the all-time greats, Canelo preserved his status as the undisputed super middleweight world champion with a unanimous decision win over compatriot Jaime Munguia in May.

However, he lost the distinction in July after being stripped of his IBF title for failing to defend his belt against mandatory challenger William Scull.

With Scull being a relative unknown outside of hardcore boxing circles, the fight didn’t make financial sense for Canelo, who instead opted to face Berlanga, the WBA No. 1-ranked mandatory contender.

Berlanga’s hardly a big name, but he’s a more exciting power puncher than Scull and his knockout ability makes him far more marketable. That said, the Puerto Rican is making a major step up and is a massive underdog as a result.

This is very much shaping up to be another Canelo show. Holding a remarkable record of 61-2-2 with 39 knockouts, the 34-year-old has power, technique and intelligence in equal measure, as well as unrivalled experience in the modern era when it comes to big world title fights.

A menacing marauder, he’s a predator inside the squared circle with all the tricks of the trade. Few fighters are as complete as Canelo, who can outbox you, outsmart you, overpower you or overwhelm you.

His ability to shift gears is second to none and he has little to no weaknesses, with his only losses coming against the legendary Floyd Mayweather back in 2013 and WBA light heavyweight king Dmitry Bivol in 2022.

Young, hungry and heavy-handed, Berlanga holds a perfect record of 22-0 with 17 knockouts.

Making his professional debut in 2016 after compiling an amateur record of 162-17, he captured the attention of boxing media with a blistering knockout streak.

By the end of 2020, he equalled Ali Raymi’s world record for consecutive first-round knockouts with 16, before going the distance in his victory over Demond Nicholson in 2021. Four more decision wins followed until he returned to his knockout ways with a sixth-round stoppage of Padraig McCrory last time out in February.

Berlanga, who took comparisons to Mike Tyson too far when he attempted to bite Roamer Alexis Angulo in their fight in 2022, has always been brash and has taken the trash-talking route against Canelo, which isn’t wise. Just ask Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant, the last two men who poked the bear and paid a heavy price.

What the tale of the tape is concerned, 27-year-old Berlanga has youth and size on his side. At 6’1″, he’s five inches taller than Canelo and will have a two-and-a-half-inch reach advantage. Technically, he’s a good body puncher with crisp one-twos and has a decent jab, although he doesn’t use the latter enough.

Ultimately, Berlanga’s bravado won’t take him very far in this fight. He’s not lacking in power, heart and determination but he is in skill when it comes to the highest level of boxing where Canelo resides. 

Given the power he possesses, he has a puncher’s chance but needs more seasoning at professional level and better defence to cut it at the pinnacle of the sport. Expect Canelo to close the show and make it a cool 40-career KOs.

Prediction: Canelo by knockout.

Best Bet: Under 8.5 rounds at 1.86.

Alternative Bet: Canelo by knockout at 1.37.

Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.