Canelo Proves Too Canny and Tough for Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas

Never underestimate a Puerto Rico versus Mexico fight.

Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez needed all 12 rounds to defeat Puerto Rico’s super strong Edgar Berlanga and retain the unified super middleweight championship on Saturday.

Berlanga never quit.

“He’s very strong,” Canelo said.

Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) showed that championship fighting is like high-speed chess and Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) did not have enough moves to out-wit the Mexican redhead at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Especially on Mexican Independence Day weekend.

Despite an early knockdown by a Canelo left hook, Berlanga was able to survive the Mexican fighter’s onslaught and withstand punishment that could have felled a rhinoceros.

“I got a little bit of Mexican in me,” Berlanga joked.

During an exchange in the third round Alvarez snapped a quick left hook that timed the Puerto Rican perfectly. Down he went for only the second time in his career. But he got up quickly and rallied a bit in the round.

It was the theme of the fight.

Every time Alvarez scored heavy with combinations to the head and body, Berlanga responded back as much as possible. He never wilted though he had plenty of opportunities.

It was a methodical attack by the Mexican champion that kept Berlanga guessing in every round. The Puerto Rican tried firing back and using his height and reach but Alvarez was always a step ahead.

Berlanga managed to score, but he never could mount a long rally. In the fifth round Berlanga used rough tactics including a head butt that angered Alvarez. It was the first time the Boricua was able to connect heavily.

But Alvarez proved too canny for Berlanga. The Mexican redhead who has won world titles as a super welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight, showed off his experience. The Puerto Rican could only absorb the blows and retaliate. But his strength was impressive.

“He will be a champion,” said Alvarez.

After 12 back-and-forth rounds, both hugged like old friends. It was exactly the type of fight Alvarez wanted for the thousands of Mexican and Puerto Rican fans at the arena and worldwide.

Alvarez was deemed the winner by unanimous decision 117-110, 118-109 twice and retains the world titles.

“I did good,” said Alvarez. “I’m the best fighter in the world.”

Berlanga was gracious in defeat.

“I could have done a lot more, but I was fighting a legend,” Berlanga said.

Other Fights

After nine rounds of whistles and boos by a disgruntled crowd due to inactivity, Erislandy Lara (31-3-3, 19 KOs) fired a lead left cross to drop Danny “Swift” Garcia (37-4). Lara was making the third defense of the WBA middleweight world title he won with a one-punch knockout of Thomas La Manna.

The battle between counter-punchers did not please the fans, but slowly Lara kept Garcia at bay with his sharp right jabs. The Cuban southpaw caught Garcia moving with his hands down with a single strafing left. Down he went for the first time in his career and the fight was ended at the end of the ninth round.

It was the first loss by knockout for Garcia, the former super lightweight and welterweight world titlist.

Plant

Once again Caleb Plant (23-2, 15 KOs) made the fight personal and found Trevor McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs) a worthy challenge for the interim super middleweight title for most of the fight.

It was thoroughly entertaining.

McCumby battered Plant early and put him to the canvas twice, although only the second was ruled a knockdown. A strong left hook to the shoulder caught Plant perfectly and down he went.

That seemed to wake up Plant.

The former super middleweight world titlist who lives in Las Vegas took the fight inside and pinned McCumby to the ropes. Plant went to work from that point on and did not allow his foe another big opportunity.

In the ninth round Plant pinned McCumby against the ropes once again and unloaded a dozen blows that ravaged the Arizona fighter. Referee Allen Huggins stopped the fight at 2:59 of the ninth round.

“Word on the street is I cant fight inside,” said Plant sarcastically.

Rolly Wins

Former lightweight champion Rolly Romero (16-2) proved too experienced for the rugged Manuel Jaimes (16-2-1) who resembles slightly Antonio Margarito. The only problem is he doesn’t punch enough like the Tijuana tornado.

Romero hit and held through much of the fight until the referee warned him repeatedly. Still, Romero was busier and far more accurate than Jaimes. All three judges scored in favor of Romero 99-91.

Photo credit: German Villasenor

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In his first fight back after being dominated and stopped by pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue in a fight for super bantamweight supremacy in July of last year, Stephen Fulton nipped upset-minded Carlos Castro, improving to 22-1 (8) in his first start as a featherweight. The verdict was split, with Fulton prevailing by 96-93 and 95-94 with the dissenter favoring Castro 95-94. The decision seemed fair although not in eyes of the predominantly Mexican crowd which booed the decision.

This was an entertaining 10-round fight between two evenly-matched 30-year-old campaigners. Long-time Phoenix resident Castro (30-3) put Fulton on the deck in round five with a counter right hand and Fulton rode his bicycle to shed the cobwebs as the round played out. But the Philadelphian, with new trainer Bozy Ennis in his corner, recuperated well and had a strong sixth round.

In round eight, Castro buckled Fulton’s knees with another straight right, but was unable to press his advantage. The bout served as the “main” prelim to the four-fight PPV card.

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In a welterweight contest slated for “10,” Mexico City’s Ricardo Salas, a 6/1 underdog, scored a second-round stoppage of Roiman Villa. The end in this slam-bang and all-too-brief skirmish came at the 2:06 mark of round three when Salas, fighting off the ropes, nailed Villa with a perfectly-placed, short right hand. Villa went down for the count.

Salas, whose de facto manager is the ubiquitous Sean Gibbons, improved to 20-2-2 with his 15^th win inside the distance. From Colombia by way of Venezuela, Villa (26-3) was making his first start since being stopped by Boots Ennis in July of last year.

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In the opener on the PBC YouTube channel, super featherweight Jonathan “Geo” Lopez, a 21-year-old Pennsylvania-born southpaw, won a wide 8-round decision over rugged San Antonio campaigner Richard Medina. Lopez pitched a shutout, winning 80-71 on all three cards, but this was hardly a stroll in the park for him.

Lopez, who improved to 17-0 (12), simply had too much class for Medina. A 20/1 favorite, the Eddy Reynoso-trained boxer hurt Medina at the end of round seven and put him on the canvas in the final round with a straight left hand, but Medina (15-3) kept on plugging away and maintained his distinction of never being stopped.

Also

In an off-TV fight, super middleweight Bek Nurmaganbet, a 26-year-old Kazakh, won his eighth straight inside the distance, improving to 12-0 (10) with a second-round stoppage of SoCal’s Joshua Conley (17-7-1).

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Matchroom was in northwestern Mexico tonight in the city of Hermosillo for a card that aired on DAZN. In the featured bout, super featherweight Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez was awarded a technical decision over Thomas Mattice when the bout was halted by the ringside physician at the start of the seventh round because Hernandez had severe cuts around both eyes. The first cut, over his right eye, developed in round four. Replays showed that the second cut, over his left eye, was caused by a right uppercut. However, in the eyes of veteran Texas referee Mark Calo-oy, the damage was caused by an accidental head butt. That sent the bout to the scorecards where Hernandez was deemed the victor by tallies of 59-55, 58-56, and 58-55 per ring announcer David Diamente who had trouble reading the results submitted to him by a boxing commissioner.

Hernandez, who turned pro at age 15 in Mexico City, is best known for his rumble with defending WBC 130-pound title-holder O’Shaquie Foster. Rocky was leading that fight with 30 seconds remaining in the final round when the roof fell in on him. He trained for tonight’s bout at the DLX and Top Rank gyms in Las Vegas under Kay Koroma and Brandon Woods, the latter of whom trains Trevor McCumby. Neither Koroma nor Woods was in his corner tonight.

It was the first fight outside the U.S. for Cleveland’s hard-luck Thomas Mattice who had won five straight heading in and appeared to be turning the bout in his favor. Mattice declined to 22-4-1.

Semi-wind-up

Twenty-four-year-old Hermosillo knockout artist Sergio Mendoza showed that he is a rising force in the flyweight division with a third-round stoppage of stocky Ensenada southpaw Angel Ramos. Mendoza crumpled Ramos with a short left uppercut in round two. Ramos attempted to rise, but it became a moot point when the match was waived off.

Mendoza improved to 24-0 with his twenty-first knockout. Ramos, a 12-year pro whose career has been slowed by injuries, falls to 30-2-2.

Also

A 10-round super middleweight contest that shaped up as a slugfest proved the opposite. Local product Julio Porras (12-0, 8 KOs) won a wide decision in a snoozefest over Venezuelan import Isaac Torres who had won all 10 of his previous fights by stoppage, none of which lasted beyond six rounds.

Torres turned timid after Porras decked him with a left hook in the second frame. He fought off his back foot for the reminder of the bout, seemingly content to simply last the distance. The scores read 100-89 and 99-90 twice.

It was hard to get a good read on Porras who trains in Seatle with David Benavidez and Diego Pacheco, but at age 22 he appears to have a bright future.

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