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Despite the bad blood between them in the build to Saturday's continuation of boxing's celebrated Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry, Edgar Berlanga succeeded in using his toughness to gain the respect of unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. Unfortunately, for Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs), that is the only thing he won on this night. Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) systematically dominated his younger and far less experienced foe from start to finish, including a knockdown he scored in Round 3 on a brutal left hook. The Mexican superstar took home scores of 117-110 and 118-109 (twice) inside T-Mobile Arena to claim a dominant and unanimous decision to defend his WBC, WBO and WBA titles at 168 pounds. “I did good. Now, what are they going to say?“ Alvarez said. “I fought all of the fighters. Now, what are they going to say? They always talk but I'm the best fighter in the world.“ Alvarez had been heavily criticized coming in for avoiding marquee fights against super middleweight boogeyman David Benavidez and pound-for-pound stalwart Terence Crawford. But despite the constant trash talk and taunting between Alvarez and Berlanga, which continued throughout their 12 rounds against one another, the two embraced at length after the fight, which saw Berlanga showcase good poise and a strong chin despite the blowout defeat. “He said he respects me and I'm his idol,“ Alvarez said. “But you know? He did good. I got a little angry [before the fight] but, I'm Mexican, man.“ “I was telling him that he's my idol and it sucks that before I get to even speak to him, we signed the contract,“ Berlanga said. “But he was my idol since I was a kid. I always looked up to him and I felt bad that we had to have bad blood later. I just wanted to thank him for the opportunity. I humbly say that.“ Alvarez, 34, backed Berlanga up to the corner and ropes at will. He outlanded the 27-year-old Berlanga by a margin of 201 to 119, according to CompuBox. Alvarez also landed an incredible 43% of his punches overall and 49% of his power shots. The sellout crowd of over 20,000 fans chanted Alvarez's name throughout this Mexican Independence Day weekend celebration as he sent his countrymen home happy despite going to a decision for the fifth straight fight. “I feel great and I felt ready. It's an honor for me to represent my country,“ Alvarez said. “[It was] my experience, my talent, my hard work and my intelligence. It's everything together. Because if you have a talent but you don't have discipline, you have nothing.“ After a slow and tense opening round, Alvarez began to go on the assault by cutting off the ring and chopping away at Berlanga with power punches. A beautiful left hook connected in Round 3 while Berlanga's back was to the ropes as Alvarez scored first blood with a beautiful knockdown. But Berlanga, who had yet to face an elite opponent before this fight and entered as an 8-to-1 betting underdog to the 20-to-1 favorite Alvarez, proved able to earn his respect by absorbing big punishment and still trying to win, all the way up to the final bell even though he was ultimately outgunned. “We did a big performance,“ Berlanga said. “I'm upset because, at the end of the day, I'm a winner. But he is a legend. I fought a legend in there, tonight. I know that I was in there. I took his best shot in the third round and got dropped but came back. And I knew that was the best punch he could give me and I took it.“ Alvarez twice buckled the legs of Berlanga over the second half but was unable to finish him. After the fight, despite Crawford's presence at ringside, a happy Alvarez decided against declaring which opponent he would like to return against in May when he likely returns to Las Vegas for Cinco de Mayo weekend. “I am going to rest and enjoy my family right now and then I'm going to respond,“ Alvarez said. Alvarez did, however, deliver a heartfelt message to Berlanga in front of the entire arena.“Hey, keep going,“ Alvarez said. “You are a good fighter. Keep working and being busy in the boxing. Keep focus, my friend.“ Elsewhere on the card, Erislandy Lara retained his WBA middleweight title against Danny Garcia in what felt like a sluggish affair for both fighters. Garcia suffered the first knockdown of his career in the ninth round before his corner called off the action in his first fight since 2022. Plus, Caleb Plant survived a rocky start to his bout with Trevor McCumby to score a late knockout and earn an interim WBA super middleweight title. Rolando “Rolly“ Romero got back in the win column with a decision over Manuel Jaimes. And Stephen Fulton survived an early knockdown to take a split decision over Carlos Castro in his debut at featherweight.
