Dominant Canelo Alvarez seals unanimous decision win over Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas to defend his unified super middleweight titles
Canelo Alvarez successfully defended his super middleweight title in front of a raucous crowd in Las Vegas by defeating Edgar Berlanga via unanimous decision.
During Mexican Independence weekend, a large crowd from Sin City, south of the border, turned out to see their man put on a show against his New York-born opponent.
Alvarez knocked Berlanga down with a left hook in the third round and was eventually crowned the winner. The judges gave the fight a score of 117-110, 118-109, 118-109.
In the final stages of the fight, Berlanga was warned for an intentional headbutt and the fighters nearly came to blows after the American threw an illegal punch.
There was foul language used throughout and Canelo admitted afterwards, “I got angry,” before trying to explain it to the sold-out crowd with the line, “I’m a Mexican man.
Canelo Alvarez (right) lands a huge right hook on opponent Edgar Berlanda in Vegas
In the third round, Berlanga was sent to the canvas by Canelo for the first time in his career
After his victory, he told the T-Mobile Arena crowd in the ring: “I am the best fighter in the world.”
During a busy weekend for combat sports in Las Vegas, with UFC at The Sphere just around the corner, Alvarez put on a clinic against his previously undefeated opponent, whose record now stands at 22-1.
Canelo, meanwhile, improved his record to 62-2-2 at age 34.
After the match, Berlanga said in the ring: ‘I could have done a lot more, but I was standing there with a legend.’
The legend celebrated this with a Mexican flag in the ring, while jumping on the shoulders of his trainer and receiving the applause of the fanatic crowd.