LAS VEGAS – Boxing cash King and certified #1 mega star Saul Canelo Alvarez succesfully defended his unified super middleweight championship belts and retained his status as the top dog in the division with a unanimous decision victory over Brooklyn, New York’s Edgar Berlanga on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Fighting as is his custom on Mexican Independence Day weekend, the Mexican mega star caught Berlanga with one of his trademark left hooks in Round 3, decking the Boricua bomber in what was his first career trip to the canvas.
Although he proved to be game, Berlanga was outboxed, beat to the punch and controlled throughout most of the fight, even despite the fact that he was the considerably larger man in the ring.
Despite being the much bigger man, Berlanga couldn’t find a way to consistently land -or set up- any power shots, as the sublimely skilled 34 year-old fighting pride of Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico prevailed by official scores of 117-110, and 118-109 twice.
Despite recording at least one knockdown in his fifth consecutive fight, Saturday’s win was the fifth in a row that the redhead has won via decision. Fact Canelo’s last win by kayo was back in November of 2021, when he stopped Caleb Plant.
Following the fight, Canelo pointed to his big win as evidence that disproves critics’ notion that say he only fights older fighters lately, as he said, in part: “I fight younger fighters. They say I only fight older fighters. They always talk… My experience, my talent, my hard work, my intelligence, everything together; makes me the best… you have talent but you don’t have discipline, then you have nothing.” Sage and wise words indeed following another fantastic fight and event from the still reigning face of the sport of boxing, Mister Cinammon Saul Alvarez.
In undercard action, former two-weight class world champion Danny “Swift” Garcia looked just a shell of himself as he was thoroughly dominated by 40-something year old Erislandy Lara in a WBA middleweight championship bout. Garcia promptly retired immediately after the bout, which concluded rather inconclusively, with the Philadelphia fighter’s father and trainer Angel Garcia electing to pull the plug right after seeing his son Danny taste the canvas for the first time in his career. If this was indeed the end, it was a melancholy conclusion to what was at times both tantalizing in its promise, and yet ultimately disappointing in actual achievements attained, especially for a good-looking Philly fighter who was once at or near the top of the food chain at 140lbs.
Former lightweight titlist Rolando “Rolly” Romero looked to bounce back from a KO defeat to Isac “Pitbull” Cruz as he handled challenger Manuel Jaimes rather easily to improve to 16-2.
Earlier, the a fore mentioned Plant improved to 23-2 and notched his 14th career knockout, overcoming a rocky start that saw him hit the floor on multiple occasions to eventually cruise to an 9th round TKO victory over a game but crude Trevor McCumby.
Philadelphia’s former two-division champ Stephen “Scooter” Fulton was also in action on Saturday, and endured through suffering an early knockdown and a few other dicey moments to eventually eke out a split decision victory over Carlos Castro in a prelim bout earlier in the day.
