On Saturday night, a Mexico vs. Puerto Rico showdown will take place as unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) faces off against very determined challenger Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, live on Amazon Prime Video PPV / DAZN PPV.
(Credit: Del Rio/Premier Boxing Champions)
Canelo Alvarez is a future Hall of Famer who has been the gold standard for many years. Like most super-middleweights, Edgar Berlanga put Canelo on his radar early in his career, and now he’s ready to fight for the WBC/WBA/WBO titles.
A product of Brooklyn, New York, Edgar Berlanga began his professional boxing career in spectacular fashion as he posted 16 knockouts in the first round. Over the course of his next five fights, Berlanga continued to win, but was unable to produce the knockouts that fans expected.
Finally, on the night of February 24, 2024, after spending three years of drought, Berlanga was able to return to his normal way of winning. With 25 seconds to go in the sixth round, Berlanga hit Padraig McCrory with a vicious overhand right that sent McCrory to the canvas.
McCrory attempted to get up, but as he struggled to his feet, his corner stood up to the contest throwing in the towel. Berlanga finally posted a long stoppage win, and he did it against a ranked opponent.
Now Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) has the opportunity to fulfill his dream as he prepares to fight for the unified super middleweight world title. Berlanga is about to compete against a man many consider the face of boxing.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez made his professional boxing debut at the age of 15, and now, nineteen years later, he has reached the point in his career where he calls the shots. The 34-year-old Alvarez is the face of boxing, and is also known to be the cash cow.
Back in November 2021, unified champion Canelo Alvarez defeated Caleb Plant via an 11th round stoppage. With the win, Alvarez took Plant’s IBF title, and officially became the undisputed world super-middleweight champion.
Canelo Alvarez went on to successfully defend his undisputed crown a total of four times. Due to Alvarez refusing to face mandatory challenger William Scull, the IBF decided to strip him. Now Alvarez is set to defend his unified title against a hungry young competitor.
27-year-old Puerto Rican boxer Edgar Berlanga is ready for his opportunity to perform under the bright lights. He has heard the comments from the doubters, and is ready to prove them wrong.
Because of Berlanga’s power, the cliché to say is that he has a puncher’s chance, but that may not be the case because Canelo has one of the best chins in the history of boxing. Dmitry Bivol has shown that being defensively responsible, a solid jab and a punch of volume beats Canelo, but is Berlanga able to follow the plan?
On Saturday evening, September 14, Edgar Berlanga has the chance to make his dream come true. Berlanga believes Canelo underestimated him and plans to dethrone the king on fight night.
“He neglects me, and he doesn’t respect me,” said Berlanga. “Canelo is in the way of my dreams right now. I’m the Chosen One, and I’m ready to become the face of boxing. I’m going to knock him out.”
