Boxing
Canelo Álvarez vs Edgar Berlanga preview
Canelo Álvarez, one of boxing’s biggest stars, returns on Saturday in Las Vegas to take on Edgar Berlanga where he will be looking to defend his WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles against an undefeated Berlanga.
Our blog previews the upcoming super middleweight bout between Canelo Álvarez and Edgar Berlanga.
Bet on the Canelo Álvarez vs Edgar Berlanga fight here with William Hill.
Canelo Álvarez is one of the most recognised and popular fighters across all combat sports, his fights are consistently record-breaking in terms of live attendance and pay-per-view buys.
Álvarez is still considered to be the world’s best at super middleweight and faces an unbeaten Edgar Berlanga, who sports a 22-0 record, in his fifth undisputed defence here. Álvarez is rated the 1/16 favourite for the bout and a strong favourite with challenger Berlanga a 15/2 shot.
With one of the best résumés in boxing, Álvarez has the rare ability of being able to pick who and when he fights, due to his achievements and box-office draw in the sport. In Berlanga, it isn’t a case of picking the easiest opponent whatsoever. The fighter is unbeaten and recorded 16 straight stoppages in his first 16 professional fights. However, he will have to raise his game to a significant career best to match it with Canelo come Saturday.
Despite being selected by Álvarez, it’s clear this is a massive jump for Berlanga. In his recent fights, despite coming through victorious he looked vulnerable to his opponent and as if he isn’t progressing quite the rate it would have appeared in the early stages of his career. None of these opponents were on the level of Canelo Álvarez either. However, the fact he was able to have those experiences of being on the back foot and coming through a fight like that, will have taught him a lot as a fighter and will have prepared him especially for his upcoming bout with Álvarez where he is bound to come under a lot of pressure.
Berlanga may have found a good time to face Canelo, who may be on the way down from his glittering prime years which could present an opportunity, but Canelo doesn’t have to compete to his prime level to beat Berlanga.
It’s hard to see past Canelo taking the win over Berlanga, but how the fight develops will be fascinating to try and work out how the bout may finish. Canelo could play it one of several ways; he may use his experience to be patient and work out the strategy of Berlanga to then begin to take the upper hand in the fight into the latter stages. He may also choose to be aggressive in the earlier stages, especially if Berlanga appears nervous early on which may well be the case if the occasion gets to him.
The 17/2 for Canelo Álvarez to win in Rounds One, Two or Three looks appealing, if he can make a fast start against his comparatively inexperienced opponent.
