Mexican boxing superstar Canelo Álvarez put on a boxing clinic against Brooklyn native Edgar Berlanga for 12 rounds that saw the future hall of famer retain his unified WBC, WBA, and WBO super middleweight titles on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Canelo, in his annual Mexican Independence Day (celebrated Sept. 16)
bout, dropped Berlanga in the third round with a powerful left hook on his way to a 118-109, 117-110, 118-109 victory. “What are the 12 rounds for?” Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) answered when asked why was unable to knock Berlanga out after knocking him down in round three. “The 12 rounds are for showing who’s the best. The knockout is unpredictable. You can’t just go out and get it because you want to. Did I want to? Of course, I did. But there’s also an opponent in front of you, someone that also does things well. So I did my thing and I was able to prove that I was the best throughout all 12 rounds.” The 34-year-old Canelo has not knocked out an opponent since November 2021, when he defeated Caleb Plant and it shows that he is on the downside of his career, though he is still fighting at an elite level. However, anyone looking for Canelo to challenge the best in his 168-pound weight class should not hold their breath.
Berlanga, 27, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, experienced his first loss as a professional and is now 22-1 (17 KOs). “I fought a legend tonight,” he said afterwards. “Hopefully this is the start today of me becoming a future legend.”
Also in Las Vegas on Saturday night, Merab Dvalishvili became UFC Bantamweight champion after defeating Sean O’Malley in a unanimous decision in five rounds at UFC 306, the very first sporting event at the Sphere, 48-47. 49-46, 48-47. Because of the close scores, look for a rematch late this year or early next year. WBA and WBO light middleweight champion Terence Crawford and Saudi Arabian boxing promoter, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, issued a challenge to Canelo while at UFC 306. When asked about it, Canelo gave no comment. Though it would be the biggest payday of his career, Crawford should not move up to 168 pounds from 154 pounds to fight Canelo. Boxing has weight divisions for a reason, and although Crawford won his first fight at light middleweight, he didn’t look like the same dominant fighter he was at lesser weights. The UFC will return to Madison Square Garden for UFC 309 with Jon Jones making the first defense of his UFC heavyweight title against former two-time champion Stipe Miocic. Next Friday, Puerto Rican fighter Xander Zayas returns to the Theater at Madison Square Garden to face Damian Sosa in a 10-round junior middleweight bout. Brownsville’s Bruce Carrington will face Sulaiman Segawa in a 10-round featherweight match. In the main event, Sandy Ryan will defend her WBO women’s welterweight title against former champion Mikaela Mayer in a 10-round fight.
