Canelo Alvarez beats a game Edgar Berlanga
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Staff Reports, Staff reports
- September 15, 2024
Edgar Berlanga calls Canelo Alvarez his 'idol'
Even in defeat, Edgar Berlanga proved his idol Canelo Alvarez wrong Saturday night. The young Nuyorican forced the Mexican champion to settle for a unanimous decision instead of the knockout Canelo predicted.
They had promoted the bout as the next installment of the heated, brutal rivalry between Mexican and Puerto Rican boxers. Berlanga and Canelo even manufactured some ugly exchanges promoting the fight.
When it was over, though, the 27-year-old Berlanga had clearly gained Canelo’s respect. The boxers embraced in the middle of the ring, and Berlanga paid Canelo the ultimate respect.
‘You are my idol’
“I love you a lot,” Berlanga told Canelo in Spanish while they embraced after the fight. “You are my idol. … You are the king of boxing.”
Berlanga was the clear underdog. Canelo Alvarez, 34, was ridiculed often leading up to the fight for dodging David Benavidez.
Critics claimed that Canelo picked Berlanga because he was an easy opponent. Berlanga was clearly eager to prove the critics wrong.
“A lot of people don’t believe in Berlanga,” he told Canelo in Spanish after the fight.
Canelo graciously tried to encourage Berlanga during their post-fight conversation.
“Just focus,” Canelo told Berlanga while tapping the younger boxer on the head. “Just focus. Fight more often, and focus.”
Canelo Alvarez retains titles
Canelo couldn’t deliver on his knockout prediction in the 12-round bout. He did knock Berlanga down, however, with a vicious left hook in the third round at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Canelo settled for a unanimous decision to retain his WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight world championship belts.
The champion from Guadalajara, Mexico, improved to 62-2-2 with 39 knockouts. To be clear, Canelo Alvarez dominated Berlanga. He landed almost 100 more punches than Berlanga over 12 rounds, 201 to 119.
WBA middleweight champ Erislandy Lara knocked out Danny Garcia in the ninth round of the co-main event. Lara, the so-called American Dream, improved to 31-3-3 with 19 knockouts. The 41-year-old Cuban has won his last four fights via knockout.
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“I did good,” Canelo said after the fight. “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.”
Berlanga, a native of Brooklyn, suffered his first professional defeat. He fell to 22-1, but he delivered a respectable performance before a pro-Mexico crowd during the marquee fight of the Mexican Independence weekend card.
The action got a little dirty at times, especially in the fifth round as they exchanged low blows.
“I got a little angry with his tactics, but I’m a Mexican man,” Canelo said. “It means a lot to fight on this day. It’s an honor to represent my country on this day.”
Berlanga pleased with performance
Berlanga couldn’t give his Puerto Rican fans the victory over the Mexican legend. He likely gained the respect of many Mexican fans, though.
“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.”
Berlanga at least left with his head held high in defeat after fighting his idol.
Staff Reports
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