Mexican boxing superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez retained his unified super middleweight world title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Edgar Berlanga on Saturday in Las Vegas. Alvarez, 34, dropped the previously undefeated Berlanga in the third round and dominated the action for the remainder of the bout en route to scores of 118-109, 118-109, and 117-110 from the judges.
The blows from Alvarez were plentiful and hurtful, too, highlighted by a left hook that sent Berlanga to the canvas in the third round, as the Puerto Rican-American did little more than try to survive. The resilience from Berlanga was impressive, even taunting Alvarez during the final round, but could not pull off the knockout he had promised and fell to 22-1.
Berlanga had repeatedly been cornered by Alvarez’s non-stop attack, with debilitating body shots. The 27-year-old did fight back but seemed to enjoy little success against the more seasoned champion. Now 62-2-2 (39 KOs), Alvarez silenced his critics who questioned his opponent choice, proclaiming himself “best fighter in the world”.
It marked Alvarez’s fifth successive points win, with a knockdown in his fourth consecutive contest. After the fight, Alvarez talked about being proud fighting during Mexico’s Independence Day weekend and is considering taking some time off before he decides what is next for him.
On the undercard, Erislandy Lara made a successful defense of his WBA middleweight title by stopping Danny Garcia in the ninth. A slow-paced fight saw 41-year-old Cuban connect on a straight left that sent Garcia down. Garcia’s corner then called off the fight.
