Saul “Canelo” Alvarez nears his next fight against Edgar Berlanga at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 14. Ahead of the highly anticipated showdown, the four-division boxing world champion visited Mexico national soccer team ahead of a friendly match with New Zealand.
Canelo was greeted by national team manager Javier Aguirre, assistant coach and Mexican soccer legend Rafa Márquez and legendary goalkeeper Jorge Campos. He gifted star midfielder Edson Álvarez a pair of boxing gloves, and also conducted the pre-game coin toss.
The game took place on Saturday, September 7 at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA. Mexico’s Orbelín Pineda (fifth minute), César Huerta (53rd minute) and Luis Romo (57th minute) scored against New Zealand goalkeeper Max Crocombe.
Going through the ropes during the Mexican Independence Day weekend, Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) defends his unified WBC, WBO and WBA super middleweight belts. He is opposed by Brooklyn’s unbeaten contender Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), who looks to cause an upset and become a new world champion at 168 lbs.