Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga Preview September 14th, 2024
WBO/WBA/WBC and Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez returns to the ring this Saturday, September 14th to take on unbeaten Edgar Berlanga of Brooklyn, New York. The 12-rounder from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live in most nations on pay-per-view. Alvarez last saw action in May when he beat former WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Jaime Munguia by a 12-round unanimous decision after dropping him in round four. Berlanga’s last outing resulted in a sixth round KO over Padraig McCrory in February.
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Alvarez vs Berlanga Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Edgar Berlanga +800
- Saul Alvarez -1500
My Pick
The 34-year-old Alvarez has beaten Caleb Plant, Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders for his latest collection of Super Middleweight Titles since 2020 and also defended various belts against Munguia, Jermell Charlo, John Ryder, Gennady Golovkin and Avni Ylidirim during that span. And let’s not forget his lopsided unanimous decision loss to Dmitry Bivol in May, 2022 in an attempt at a light heavyweight crown. He’s also beaten the likes of Rocky Fielding, Daniel Jacobs and Sergey Kovalev in the past five years.
Alvarez owns a 61-2-2 record with 39 Ko’s with his only other defeat being a majority decision to Floyd Mayweather in September, 2013. His two draws were a highly-disputed 12-round affair with Golovkin in the first meeting of their trilogy in 2017 as well as a four-round battle against Jorge Juarez back in 2006. Alvarez stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 70.5 inch and has a wealth of experience under his belt as he turned pro in 2005 when he was just 15 years old has 496 rounds in the bank since then.
He’s taken on and beaten several other tough opponents over the years such as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, James Kirkland, Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara, Shane Mosley, Josesito Lopez, Kermit Cintron, Carlos Baldomir, and Alfredo Angulo. He’s also held world titles in the junior. middleweight, middleweight and light heavyweight divisions as well as minor belts as a welterweight.
Alvarez has good power as 63.9 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage but he’s gone the distance in his last five fights and in seven of his past 15. He also possesses a granite chin and quick hands. Bivol, Plant, Golovkin, Mayweather, Lara and Khan to some degree, showed that Canelo can be outboxed in stages as he has difficulty handling a quick, stiff jab and fluid movement. Even so, Alvarez is an above-average boxer-puncher who likes to go to the body but has a bit of difficulty with opponents who are mobile.
The 27-year-old Berlanga carries around a perfect record of 22-0 with 17 Ko’s and has boxed 72 rounds since his pro debut. He started his pro career in 2016 by flying out of the gate with 16 consecutive first-round knockouts. However, he’s been taken the distance now in five of his last six fights. Before halting McCrory in his last outing his previous stoppage came in December, 2020 when he halted Ulises Sierra in 160 seconds. Still, he owns a highly-impressive knockout ratio of 77.3 per cent.
Berlanga, who’s nicknamed ‘The Chosen One,’ stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 73-inch reach for a five-inch height advantage and a 2.5-inch edge in reach on Alvarez. Berlanga enjoyed a fine amateur career with a reported record of 162-17. He placed second at the 2013 National Police Athletic League Championships (Junior Level), second at the 2013 U.S. National Junior (Under-17) Championships, third at the 2014 U.S. National Youth (Under-19) Championships and second at the 2015 U.S. National Youth (Under-19) Championships.
It’s no secret that Berlanga’s power along with decent skills have helped him get this far with some of his other wins coming over the likes of Roamer Alexis Angulo, Steve Rolls, Marcelo Caceres, Jaime Barboza, Aaron Garcia, Samir dos Santos Barbosa, Cesar Nunez, Eric Moon, Lanell Bellows, and Demond Nicholson. Jason Quigley, Nicholson, Caceres, Rolls and Angulo are the only men to go the distance with Berlanga and also get past the sixth round. His 10-round unanimous decision victory over Caceres in October, 2021 saw him capture the vacant WBO NABO Belt and he defended it against Rolls, Angulo and Quigley.
Prediction…
Alvarez once fought the top names of his divisions but lately has been selecting Grade B opponents instead of Grade A foes such as David Benavidez or he’s chosen to fight boxers from other weight classes or those who have been somewhat inactive. Basically, he has been accused of cherry picking once again and it’s hard to argue against that point with this fight against Berlanga. It’s simply a fight nobody was calling to see and fans are starting to get tired of Alvarez’s matchups. The youthful Berlanga does have size and power on his size but that’s about it. He’s never fought a contender and doesn’t have the experience needed to win a fight like this. He has a puncher’s chance but to take advantage of it he needs to go after Alvarez right from the opening bell as it’s unlikely he’ll be able to handle the power shots he’ll eventually receive in return. I don’t like Berlanga’s chances of a win here and it would be a surprise if he lasts the distance too.
Berlanga lacks the experience needed to beat Canelo.
Play: Alvarez -1500 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Edgar Berlanga betting • Saul Alvarez betting