On Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez successfully defended his super middlewight titles by out-pointing Edgar Berlanga over 12 largely one-sided rounds. Which is no surprise given that nobody outside of Berlanga's immediate family or his management gave him much of a shot.
After getting sent to the canvas in the third from a blistering left hook from the Mexican superstar, Berlanga was able to dust himself off, and was able to hear the final bell.
After 12 rounds the scores read 118-109(twice) and 117-110. The result of this fight was never really in doubt. But some credit has been given to Berlanga for hanging in there and going the distance. To be honest, he showed me some grit and toughness that some questioned beforehand.
It was a bit of a moral victory for Berlanga.
German Villasenor
He didn't get knocked out, he went to the distance with a sure fire Hall-of-Famer, and actually had some moments late in the fight.
But it also begs the question: did Berlanga just clear a very low bar of expectations? Yeah, he gave a better effort than Jermell Charlo, but that's not saying much. To paraphrase Herm Edwards: did he play...to...win..the...game?
Lets be honest, the real question coming into this pay-per-view contest wasn't if Canelo was going to win, but how. Would he finally score another stoppage, something he has not done since 2021 (when he scored an eighth round TKO of Billy Joe Saunders). Or cruise home to a wide unanimous decision, something that has become a recent trend.
Canelo vs Berlanga FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS: September 14, 2024 | PBC PPV on Prime Video
It's one thing to survive, it's something else while actually trying to come out victorious. Berlanga and his camp came into this event with plenty of bluster and bombast, but for the most part fought in a very cautious manner for much of the night. Having the reputation as a heavy-handed puncher, he didn't give himself much of a 'punchers chance' by not truly committing to his shots for the better part of 10 rounds.
The question has to be asked, is the standard now just to last and survive? There was a time when plaudits were reserved for boxers who were willing -- for lack of a better term -- to go out on their shield. By today's standards Randall 'Tex' Cobb might have been given awards for his performance versus Larry Holmes.
Much of this fight actually reminded me of the 1992 clash between Julio Cesar Chavez and Hector 'Macho' Camacho (a Mexican-Puerto Rican clash that actually captured the fancy of both countries). Chavez punished the cocky Camacho for 12 rounds and earned the victory. Camacho gained a measure of respect by taking his beating like a pro.
Alvarez did try and force the action and make Berlanga capitulate but he was never able to truly land that shot that he needed. Maybe at age 34 and 66 fights under his belt (62-2-2, 39 KOs) Alvarez no longer has that gas tank that can force opponents off the cliff. To his credit, Berlanga exhibited some slickness and sound defense that allowed him to stay upright after the third round.
It will still take a very good fighter on a very good night to defeat Alvarez. He may not be at his physical apex anymore but he's still an elite prizefighter. Guys like Berlanga might be able to last against this version of him, but they wont do nearly enough to defeat him.
"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,” said Alvarez.
FINAL FLURRIES
Caleb Plant showed his class by eventually stopping Trevor McCumby over nine rounds....It looks like the end of the road for Danny Garcia, who was knocked out in round nine by Erislandy Lara...After what I saw on Saturday night, I'd really like to see a showdown between Berlanga and Jaime Munguia in the near future...Rollie Romero got back in the win column by scoring a 10 round decision over Manuel Jaimes...I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com....
