It was Mexico against Puerto Rico on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and this time, Mexico won!
Mexican superstar and unified 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez defeated Puerto Rican contender Edgar Berlanga by unanimous decision.
Two judges had it 118-109, and the other scored it 117-110.
Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) dominated the action most of the night and dropped Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) with a left hook in the third round. Berlanga did not appear to be hurt as he banged his gloves together following the knockdown. However, after the knockdown, Berlanga seemed a little tentative the rest of the way.
According to Compubox, the Mexican legend outlanded Berlanga 201-119. In addition, Alvarez landed 49% of his power punches.
After the win, the 34-year-old Alvarez says he’s the best in boxing.
“I did good. Now, what are they gonna say?” Canelo said. “They said I don’t fight young fighters. They always talk, but I’m the best fighter in the world.”
The 27-year-old Berlanga said he did his best but could have done more.
“I’m upset because, at the end of the day, I’m a winner,” Berlanga said. “I fought a legend tonight and did my best to represent Puerto Rico. We’re fighters and try to throw our opponent out of their game. I took his best shot and knew I could take his punches and return them. I could have jabbed a lot more, but I was in there with a legend.”
The result was not surprising. We all knew Berlanga would have a hard time defeating Canelo. Now, you wonder what’s next for Alvarez. Obviously, the fight that everyone wants to see Alvarez-David Benavidez, but there seems to be some reluctance on Canelo’s side to get the fight down. Another fight out there is against WBA 154-pound champion Terence Crawford, which has a lot of intrigue.
Alvarez-Berlanga was not the fight the fans wanted to see, but Alvarez is the sport’s cash cow, and he dictates all the terms, so whoever he fights on Cinco de Mayo in May weekend will truly be up to Canelo.
Photo: Rey Del Rio/Premier Boxing Champions
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