Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga pause mid-fight to have heated argument after challenger nails champion with huge punch

15/09/2024 05:29

Canelo Alvarez defended his WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles against Edgar Berlanga in a comfortable win that got heated at points.

The champion started fast, backing up Berlanga with stiff jabs and sweeping shots to the body.

Traditionally, the pugilists that have been able to force Canelo onto his heels have caused him the most problems but despite being noted for his punching power and size, Berlanga seemed happy to box on the back foot.

The time and space allowed Canelo to set up a perfectly placed left hook that sent Berlanga tumbling to the canvas in the third frame.

As the Puerto Rican puncher made his way back to his feet, Canelo stepped in and opened up but didn't get carried away.

Berlanga saw out the round and was punished for his bravery in the preceding stanzas as Canelo went to work.

Growing frustrated by being made to miss and pay, Berlanga turned to dirty tactics.

After the referee called a break, he continued to let his hands fly which led to a heated mid-fight argument between the pair.

Meanwhile, in the eighth, Berlanga landed a headbutt, prompting a punch after the break from Canelo in reply.

At the three-quarter-way mark, Berlanga was well behind on the scorecards with Canelo in complete control.

The Mexican superstar was finding it so easy that towards the end of the 10^th round, he dropped his hands and turned away from Berlanga, allowing his adversary to land his best shot of the fight.

Once again, this prompted a verbal sparring session as both men postured up.

Even though he wasn’t able to cause Canelo significant problems, Berlanga did earn a lot of props for rolling the dice down the home straight and exchanging in the pocket.

In particular, the final few seconds were extremely exciting as both men threw caution to the wind.

He had his moments but, in the end, it proved to be too big of a jump for Berlanga.

All three judges scored the contest in favour of Canelo 117-110, 118-109, and 118-109, handing him the unanimous decision win.

Ahead of fight night, Canelo insisted that he wants to rematch Dmitry Bivol next provided he beats Artur Beterbiev in their upcoming undisputed light heavyweight clash.

Other options include a super fight with Terence Crawford and the long-awaited grudge match with David Benavidez.