As we head into this weekends bout between undisputed super middleweight champion, Saul 'Canelo' Alvaerz, and Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, there is still something I have yet to run into.
Someone that is picking Berlanga to pull the upset. In fact, there are very few even playing the 18-to-1 odds.
Seriously, is there anyone out there putting down a few bucks while laying the odds?
Bueller?
Bueller?
Bueller?
It's clear that should Berlanga win on Saturday night, it will be a bigger upset than Northern Illinois toppling Notre Dame in South Bend last weekend.
Matchroom Boxing
And for good reason. 'Canelo' is one of the most accomplished boxers in the sport. There is no need to rehash his resume, it speaks for itself. If Alvarez retired after this weekend, he would be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. Berlanga is one that has more questions than credentials coming into this weekend. To be fair, Berlanga is currently rated seventh by Ring Magazine. But you could argue that it's more a function of a very watered down 168, than his actual exploits inside the ring.
Roy Jones, James Toney and Joe Calzaghe aren't exactly walking through that door.
What's really maddening to many fans is that Berlanga got this highly lucrative assignment by merely turning down other fights, and just waiting it out. Then when you add in his Puerto Rican heritage, Berlanga fit the bill perfectly for this weekend as they prop up the Mexican-Puerto Rican rivalry.
But this isn't exactly Salvador Sanchez versus Wilfredo Gomez, here.
Matchroom Boxing
There was a time not-too-long ago that Berlanga was a boxer with considerable buzz, as he notched 16 consecutive first round stoppages to begin his career. Then a funny thing happened, he was paired with opponents that not only stood up to him, but they punched back. And suddenly Berlanga wasn't so confident navigating in two-way traffic.
Since his bout against Demond Nicholson (who not only took him out of round one, but the eight round distance) he has looked pedestrian to downright vulnerable in subsequent bouts. Jaime Munguia, who faced Alvarez in his most recent bout (a 12-round decision) was a much more qualified opponent than Berlanga, and he was right around a 5-to-1 'dog.
A guy who makes his living wagering on fights told me (via text) on Wednesday:
"I will tell you a real gambling sign that Berlanga has LESS THAN ZERO chance, bookies offshore are not allowing Canelo to be put in parlays with other boxing or other sports. This means they are certain Canelo will win and don't want the exposure.
"Usually they allow you to tie a boxing bet to an NFL, or MLB bet to get better odds. But the Canelo fight is not parlayable."
This gambling man added, "it rarely happens. It means they don't want ANY Canelo money piling up because they KNOW people aren't betting Berlanga and they can be over-exposed. Yep, it's a rare occurrence. They must not be getting ANY Berlanga money whatsoever."
Anything can happen in a professional prizefight. It's two well-trained combatants who have spent months preparing for battle. And to be fair, Berlanga has shown that he can punch in the past. But you wonder how he will deal with the bright lights and pressure that come with facing Alvarez on the games biggest stage. This isn't like fighting at the Caribe Royale in front of a few thousand people.
Realistically, the best the audience can hope for is Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) showing signs of corrosion, and Berlanga can capitalize on it in the early rounds. Most are just hoping for an entertaining -- and one-sided -- affair, where the Mexican superstar will score his first KO since 2021.
Berlanga has never really been forced to swim in deep waters. Now, he's being thrown into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But at least he'll drown a much richer man.
3KR
The '3 Knockdown Rule' with Mario Lopez and I returned this week, and we had Jim Lampley as a guest to talk about this pay-per-view card:
THE 3 KNOCKDOWN RULE EPISODE 58 | THE MONSTER RETURNS | JIM LAMPLEY INTERVIEW
And to subscribe on your preferred podcast platform, click the Linktree:
3knockdownrule - Listen on YouTube, Spotify - Linktree
FINAL FLURRIES
Also on this card, that can be purchased on PPV.com, is a super middleweight clash between Caleb Plant, and Trevor McCumby, Danny Garcia-Erislandy Lara and the return of Rollie Romero...The rematch between Robson Conceicao and O'Shaquie Foster will take place on November 2 in Verona, New York, as the headliner on a Top Rank card that will be broadcast on ESPN+. Back in July, Foster lost his WBC 130-pound title in a very controversial decision to Conceicao....I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com....
