(CNN Spanish) – Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will return to the ring to defend at least one super middleweight championship belt during Mexican Independence weekend.
On Saturday, September 14, he will face Edgar Berlanga, a 27-year-old American boxer of Puerto Rican descent who is undefeated with 22 wins and 17 knockouts.
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The challenger wants to take away the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles from Canelo Alvarez. During the presentation of the fight in Las Vegas on September 10, Berlanga dared to predict that he would knock out the Mexican champion in the sixth round.
“As far as the Canelo team is concerned, we always have respect for him, for his achievements and for what he did for the sport,” Berlanga told the media on Tuesday, according to Reuters. “I would knock him out in the sixth round. He told me eight rounds, I’ll give him six,” he added.
Following Berlanga’s comments, Canelo reacted by saying: “He’s a good fighter. He’s strong, young, but for me this is nothing new. I’ve fought everyone, every style; bigger than me, smaller than me, bigger than me. “I know everything about boxing, I have a lot of experience and he will realise that on Saturday night.”
Canelo Alvarez comes into this fight with a record of 61 wins (39 by knockout and technical knockout), 2 losses (by decision against Floyd Mayweather in 2013 and Dmitry Bivol in 2022) and 2 draws. According to the WBC,
However, the Mexican boxer lost his undisputed status in the 168-pound class in July when the International Boxing Federation (IBF) announced he was stripped of his belt for choosing Berlanga as his opponent instead of his mandatory competitor, Cuban William Scull.
In his previous fight, Canelo defeated Mexican Jaime Munguia by unanimous decision on May 4, 2024.
“Canelo” Alvarez says he is “100% ready” to face undefeated Edgar Berlanga, who wants to “surprise the world”
