Saul “Canelo” Alvarez dropped and out-landed Edgar Berlanga to victory by unanimous decision on September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Mexico vs Puerto Rico showdown, held during the Mexican Independence Day weekend, saw Canelo’s 49% connect rate on power punches earning him the win with the scores 118-109 twice and 117-110.
En route to decision, in the third round Alvarez sent Berlanga to the mat with a big left hook. The latter, however, was game throughout the fight. The pair also traded low blows and nearly hit the canvas in a tense moment during the fifth round.
With the victory, Canelo Alvarez retained his unified WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight belts. The 34-year-old native of Guadalajara, Jalisco improved to 62-2-2, 39 and secured his fifth win in a row.
“I did good. Now what are they gonna say? They said I don’t fight young fighters. They always talk, but I’m the best fighter in the world,” Canelo said post-fight.
“I got a little angry with his tactics, but I’m Mexican man. It means a lot to fight on this day. It’s an honor to represent my country on this day.”
“My experience and my talent was the difference. It’s about hard work and intelligence. It’s everything together. If you have talent, you need discipline as well.”
“A lot of people say we can’t, but we can. Las Vegas is like a second home for Mexicans. We are warriors and we never give up. I’m going to rest and then I’m going to decide what’s next.”
27-year-old Brooklyn native Edgar Berlanga suffered his first career defeat and dropped to 22-1, 17 KOs.
“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 we try to throw our opponent off their game. I took his best shot and I knew I could take his punches and return them. I could have jabbed a lot more, but I was in there with a legend.”
In the co-main event, Erislandy Lara of Cuba dominated fellow two-division world champion Danny “Swift” Garcia of Philadelphia. With the victory via ninth-round TKO, the 41-year-old southpaw made the third successful defense of his WBA middleweight title.
Also on the card, former world champion Caleb Plant of Nashville, Tennessee returned to winning ways and earned the interim WBA super middleweight belt via ninth-round TKO against Trevor McCumby of Yorkville, Illinois. Plus, former world champion Rolando Romero of Las Vegas got back in the win column scoring a unanimous decision against Stockton-based Manuel Jaimes.
Great pictures, thanks for sharing.