That’s all for tonight. Thanks for following along with us and be sure to check out the full report.
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“I was telling him that he’s my idol,” Berlanga says when asked about his long exchange with Álvarez after the fight. “And it sucks that before I even got to speak to him – usually fighters get to have an interaction before they fight – it was just, we got the fight and we signed the contract. I was just telling that he’s my idol, since I was a kid I was looked up to him, and I felt kind of bad that we had to give bad blood to each other before the first time meeting. [I’d have liked] to give thanks because I looked up to him.
“I watched him growing up, when I was an amateur going into the pros, and I just want to thank him for the opportunity. He’s at that level where he could pick and choose his fighters. He’s a king, So he went and chose a Puerto Rican fighter and I just want to give thanks to him for that, man. I humbly say that: thank you, Team Canelo.”
A bit of history made with tonight’s win. Álvarez has gone clear of Marco Antonio Barrera for third most wins by a Mexican in world title fights. Julio César Chávez tops the list (31) ahead of Ricardo López (25), Álvarez (22) and Barrera (21).
“I did good,” Álvarez says in his rapidly improving English. “You know, now what they gonna say? I fight younger fighters? Before they say, I fight older fighters. Now what they gonna say? That I fight younger fighters. They always talk. I’m the best fighter in the world.”
He’s asked what it means to pull off the win on Mexican Independence Day weekend, which he’s transformed into an annual tentpole for his fighting schedule over the past decade.
“It means a lot,” he says. “I feel great. I feel grateful. It’s an honor for me to represent my country in this day. I feel proud about it. I’m grateful for the people who support me. Some people say, you don’t love me. But guess what? You are here supporting me.”
The fans go berserk, naturally.
“My experience, my talents, my hard work, my intelligence, everything together,” Álvarez says, when asked to reflect on his accuracy rate of more than 50% of power punches landed. “Because if you have a talent and you don’t have discipline, you have nothing. If you have discipline and you don’t have talent, you have nothing [just] the same. So you need to combine both with hard work.”
Updated
Álvarez wins by unanimous decision
Álvarez wins by scores of 117-110 and 118-109 (twice), to the surprise of no one. He has retained his WBC, WBO and WBA titles at super middleweight, sending Berlanga to the first defeat of his professional career.
The Guardian had it 120-107, a complete shutout with an extra point for the third-round knockdown.
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Round 12
Álvarez closes in style, clearly winning the final round with a gorgeous array of shots to the head and body. But Berlanga earns a whole lot of respect with this effor. He went the distance with an all-time great, returning fire until the final bell. Waiting on the official scores.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 120-107 Berlanga)
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Round 11
Álvarez continues bouncing punches off the head and body of his outclassed foe. Three more minutes of this mismatch (or less).
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 110-98 Berlanga)
Round 10
More of the same in the 10th. Canelo in total command although Berlanga is throwing back. An interesting moment near the end when the clapper signalling the final 10 seconds of the round sounds and Álvarez turns his back and walks to his corner. Berlanga lunges in and lands his cleanest shot of the night. Álvarez, whether he’d gone to his corner in error or a stroke of gamesmanship, shakes his head in defiance as if to say: “You can’t hurt me.”
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 100-89 Berlanga)
Round 9
Berlanga is simply cannon fodder for Álvarez, boxing off the back foot and taking way too many shots. His corner might not let him take too much more punishment and with good reason. This is one-way traffic.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 90-80 Berlanga)
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Round 8
Another round for Álvarez, who is breaking down Berlanga. This is a masterclass of power punching from the Mexican star. Berlanga is warned by Harvey Dock for what appeared to be a blatantly intentional head butt. Álvarez’s hooks to the body are really taking their toll on the New Yorker, whose movement has all but ground to a halt.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 80-71 Berlanga)
Round 7
Berlanga is fighting behind a solid jab but Álvarez is winning every round of this fight. Álvarez is just doing much better work to the body, landing power shots to Berlaga’s ribs at will. Berlanga crashes to the canvas near the end of the frame but it’s ruled a slip.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 70-62 Berlanga)
Round 6
Álvarez is digging to the body more after spending the opening rounds headhunting. Berlanga has settled in and looks more comfortable than he did in the early rounds. The body work will yield dividends for the champion, who is landing the hook at will downstairs. Lots of two-way action in this frame but a clear round for Canelo.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 60-53 Berlanga)
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Round 5
Álvarez traps Berlanga in the corner and bangs away. This is a clear mismatch but the durable challenger is still in the fight. Berlanga hits Álvarez low, angering the champion and drawing adminition from the referee Harvey Dock. Álvarez continues to land the harder shots but Berlanga is firing back, just with less frequency and success. After the bell Álvarez is treated for a mouse under his eye.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 50-44 Berlanga)
Round 4
More of the same from Álvarez, whose experience on the big stage is telling. Berlanga is fighting back but Canelo is walking him down and landing the harder and more significant shots.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 40-35 Berlanga)
Berlanga down in round three!
Round 3
Early in the round Álvarez drops Berlanga with a perfectly timed left hook to his opponent’s chin, dumping Berlanga on the seat of his trunks! Berlanga is down for the second time in his career! The New Yorker smacks his gloves together in frustration and makes it to his feet but he’s immediately trapped in the corner and appears to be in big trouble. Álvarez is opening fire and looking to close to show! Berlanga brings the fight back to the center of the ring and looks like he’s out of immediate danger. He makes it to the bell but how much longer can his outclassed foe last?
After three rounds Canelo has landed 20 of 44 punches, including 14 of 27 power shots, according to Compubox’s punch statistics. Berlanga has landed six of 39 punches.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-8 Berlanga (Álvarez 30-26 Berlanga)
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Round 2
Álvarez lands a hard shot upstairs near the start of the round, continuing to close distance using educated pressure. Berlanga is accommodating by backing up against the ropes, a mistake. The champion is defending beautifully using feints and upper-body movement. Berlanga is letting his hands go more in this round than in the first, but Álvarez is in clear control with his constant pressure setting the pace.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 20-18 Berlanga)
Round 1
There’s the bell! The fighters meet in the center of the ring and are circling one another. Berlana’s nearly six-inch height advantage looks even starker under the lights than at yesterday’s weigh-in. Neither man throws a punch for the first 30 seconds. Álvarez lands a left hook around the guard of Berlanga. Lots of feints from both men as they are collecting data on the other. Alvarez throws a combination while moving in and lands a right hand to the temple. Not much to go on during a feeling-out opening round, but Alvarez landed all of the harder shots.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga (Álvarez 10-9 Berlanga)
The fighters have been announced by ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. The final instructions have been given by referee Harvey Dock, the seconds are out and we’ll pick it up with round-by-round coverage from here!
... and here come the fighters making their entrances onto the T-Mobile Arena floor. First out of the tunnel is the challenger, Edgar Berlanga, making the long walk to the ring encircled by an entourage that includes the rappers Fat Joe and Arcángel, who is performing Flow Cabrón. And now here comes Canelo, clad in a brown and orange Dolce & Gabbana pancho-style robe, calmly walking to the ring alongside the singer JOP. It’s a relatively muted ringwalk for the champion given his track record for pyrotechnics. Both are in the ring. Not much longer now.
It’s anthem time at the T-Mobile Arena after an extended delay. First the Himno Nacional Mexicano, then the Star-Spangled Banner (bypassing La Borinqueña altogether). The fighter entrances should not be far behind …
Lara retains title after Garcia retires
Garcia retires after the ninth round and Lara retains his WBA middleweight title. Lara landed a straight left near the end of the ninth, almost like a jab, that dropped Garcia for the first time in his career. He made it to his feet and to the end of the round, but Angel had seen enough and told referee Thomas Taylor the fight was over. It may well be the last time we see the two-division champion from Philadelphia in the ring.
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We’re halfway through the scheduled 12-round fight between Lara and Garcia. Not a whole lot of action to speak of and the crowd is getting restless. Garcia’s father and trainer, Angel, keeps asking him if he’s OK in the corner between rounds.
Tale of the tape
Here’s a look at how Álvarez and Berlanga measure up ahead of tonight’s main event. The challenger has a five-and-a-half-inch advantage in height and a two-and-a-half-inch edge in reach. But the chasm in experience between the fighters, both in number of bouts fought and total rounds, clearly favors Canelo.
One more preliminary fight before the main event. Ersilandy Lara is defending the WBA’s version of the middleweight title against Danny Garcia, a former world champion at junior welterweight and welterweight seeking to become the first ever three-division champion to hail from the great fighting city of Philadelphia. Worth mentioning: although the fight is for Lara’s middleweight belt, it has been contracted at a catch-weight of 157lbs, three pounds below the division limit.
At 41, Lara is the oldest active male world champion in the sport today.
Plant stops McCumby by ninth-round TKO
Caleb Plant has just stopped Trevor McCumby to win the vacant WBA interim super middleweight title. The unheralded McCumby went off as a lopsided underdog but took it to Plant in the opening rounds, knocking him down in the fourth, only for Plant to rally back and get the stoppage when the referee intervened with one second left in the ninth.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to tonight’s super middleweight title fight between Canelo Álvarez and Edgar Berlanga. Álvarez, the Mexican superstar and the face of boxing over the past decade, is defending his WBC, WBO and WBA titles at 168lbs against an unbeaten American challenger. Unfortunately for this sport’s long-suffering fans, it’s not the one they’ve been waiting years to see. Instead of taking on David Benavidez, who’s been his mandatory challenger for nearly two years, Álvarez is fighting Berlanga, a 27-year-old from Bushwick of Puerto Rican heritage who is undefeated in 22 professional outings, but whose stock has cooled somewhat since opening his ledger with 16 consecutive first-round knockout wins.
“I could be the face of Puerto Rican boxing after Saturday night,” Berlanga said this week. “I’ve wanted that for many years and now it’s my turn to do it.”
The odds will not be in his favor. Berlanga will go off as a 9-1 underdog on merit, even if the 34-year-old Álvarez has failed to score a knockout in nearly three years and has shown indications that he’s past his prime. In fact whether Canelo can finish his younger foe inside the distance may be the biggest drama in this one-sided matchup, which is certain to unfold before a rollicking crowd at T-Mobile Arena there to celebrate the Mexican holiday.
“It’s an honor to fight on this date,” Alvarez said. “Mexican Independence Day is very important for us. It’s very special and I’m very proud to fight for the Mexican people.”
Plenty more to come before the main event gets under way in about an hour and a half.
Bryan will be here shortly.
