Sunday Convo: Was Canelo vs Berlanga A Hit Or A Miss?

On Saturday night in Las Vegas, NV, two of the biggest combat sports events were held just a few blocks away from each other, and they competed for eyeballs on the heavily celebrated Mexican Independence Day weekend. UFC 306 was held at the Sphere while Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) vs. Edgar Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) took place at the T-Mobile Arena. Canelo was able to pack in 20,312 at the T-Mobile, which was announced as a sellout, and the only question remains whether the fans felt that his win over Berlanga was the hit he had promised or a miss.

Canelo Showed Dominance; Are You Not Entertained? 

Some media members went on X immediately after the fight to say that Berlanga turned in a similar performance as Jermell Charlo did a year ago. Making that comparison is a bit of a stretch, as many saw Berlanga make more of an effort throughout the fight than Charlo did. However, the same type of fight occurred after they were knockdown which was Canelo slowing down drastically and his opponent becoming hesitant to avoid being knocked out.

On fight night, Berlanga looked like a cruiserweight fighting Canelo, who appeared more like a light heavyweight. Berlanga landed some hard shots early in the fight, which triggered Eddy Reynoso to tell Canelo between the second and third rounds, “We knew he would punch hard, but now we have to get into our strategy.” In the third round, Canelo did just that and had Berlanga on the ropes, feinted with a left hook to the body, but then went upstairs with it. Berlanga never saw the punch coming hence why he visibly showed he was frustrated while down and the referee was counting. Berlanga would survive the round and make it to the final bell of the fight, but he was cautious with his punch selection and didn’t “go for it,” knowing he was down big in the fight. Canelo won ten out of the twelve rounds but arguably won every round, as Berlanga could never gain momentum.

Berlanga Was Star-Struck

This is the part where things have taken a turn for the worst and forced the question to be asked about the fight being a hit or miss. During the post-fight interview, Berlanga said, “I told Canelo that he’s my idol. Ever since I was a kid, I looked up to him. I felt bad that we had bad blood when we first met. I want to thank him for the opportunity.” On Sunday morning, fans began messaging me with a reaction about what they saw last night. One of those messages was a sharp stab at the PPV main event on Saturday night.

“Berlanga could have kissed Canelo’s as$ over lunch and saved me $90.” He would later add, “Grateful for the opportunity to get your as$ whooped from corner to corner. What kind of mess is that? Great fighters beat their idols. They don’t thank them for the as$ whoopin.”

Although that comment has a slight comedic tone, the fans are beginning to understand that these Canelo fights are more about the event than the fight itself. If any opponent would be up for getting knocked out because of his lack of skill, it was Berlanga. But to a certain extent, Canelo doesn’t want to take those risks during the fight as he knows, like older fighters from the past, that at any point, his granite chin can crack. As for Berlanga, he’s added himself to the long list of fighters who are just “happy to be there” and collect the “lottery ticket,” which is 10 million, according to Berlanga.

I wrote a column in June titled “Is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez still considered an exciting fighter to watch?” This was shortly after the Jaime Munguia fight where Canelo would score the early knockdown but then settle for scoring a decision victory. Fans thought it would be different this time as we saw a more aggressive Canelo at the LA presser and him clinching his fists during their stare-down on Wednesday. Yes, he would serve up the knockdown on Saturday night, but the knockout that his fans desperately wanted to see did not happen. We are in the chapter of Canelo’s career where he’s satisfied with doing just enough to win with minimal risk.

Canelo May Take His Show On The Road

With fight fans now starting to look at whether a Canelo fight is worth going to or even watching, it’s time for Canelo to take his show to new markets. A fight against Chris Eubank Jr. in the UK would be a spectacle. An exhibition against Conor McGregor in Ireland would be massive. He could also have a fight against Terence Crawford in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That would be a huge event, although after Saturday, I don’t know how much of an appetite there will be for that fight but it could still happen next year. All of these are options but to think he will go after Dmitry Bivol if he beats Artur Beterbiev next month is a statement that even Canelo may not believe himself after he said it. The options for Canelo are getting thin, so he either takes his show on the road or ends up making 2025 his last year in boxing.

My Three Cents

Saturday night wasn’t a hit or a miss; it was somewhere in between. The undercard fights had some great action, but the main event didn’t deliver the pound of flesh everyone was looking for. It didn’t add to the legendary list of Mexico vs. Puerto Rico fights, but it did raise Berlanga’s profile as he did better than what many thought he would given his paper-thin resume. As for Canelo, after the fight, he said he would rest and spend time with his family so don’t look for any news on his next fight until early next year.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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