Welcome fight fans as fight week is upon us! We are all set for Canelo Alvarez to put his middleweight championship on the line against a strong young challenger in Edgar Berlanga.
The grand arrivals, press conferences and workouts will fill up this week, culminating with fight night at the T-Mobile Arena on Mexican Independence Day weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.
How do the fighters match up? Let’s take a look:
POWER
In the power department, both fighters boast plenty of it. Canelo has 39 knockouts on his Hall of Fame ready resume.
Meanwhile Berlanga is perhaps best known for scoring a string of 16 straight first round knockouts to start off his boxing career.
However, the knockouts stopped and Berlanga hasn’t stopped an opponent in six fights.
Similarly, Canelo’s last knockout came six fights ago, an 11 round TKO over Caleb Plant in November 2021.
Berlanga may attempt some first round heroics, which would be a surprise in taking a risk against such an established opponent, yet that’s why they fight the fights, right?
ADVANTAGE: Canelo Alvarez
EXPERIENCE
Canelo has steadily ascended to the top of the fight game in making himself a true star and ambassador of the sport. The Mexican from Guadalajara has fashioned his career around the biggest boxing dates on the calendar with Cinco De Mayo in May and Independence Day in September. The bright lights and sold out crowds are nothing new to Alvarez.
Berlanga represents Puerto Rico in what the fighters and fight fans hope will propel the fighters into a country rivalry slug fest. If the temperature rises in the fight, Berlanga may need to stay in a defensive mindset and pick his spots, due to a lack of experience at the top level and his limitations: the Canelo fight is Berlanga’s first title fight and first pay per view event.
ADVANTAGE: Canelo Alvarez
SPEED
Detractors of Canelo point out both his lack of stoppage of opponents recently as well as seeming to be flat footed over his last several fights.
If Berlanga could turn this into an advantage, he would be well served to do so. Canelo is an “old” 34 years of age with 65 total fights, while Berlanga is 27 years old with a fraction of the fights and wars Canelo as participated in.
ADVANTAGE: Edgar Berlanga
Tune in Saturday September 14, 2024 for Canelo vs Berlanga live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
