Mexican superstar and pound-for-pound great Canelo Álvarez delivered another virtuoso performance by dropping the previously unbeaten Edgar Berlanga on his way to defending his unified WBC, WBA and WBO Super Middleweight World Championships via unanimous decision as Canelo Promotions presented a Mexican Independence Day Weekend extravaganza headlining a PBC Pay-Per-View available on Prime Video Saturday night from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
"I did good. Now what are they gonna say? They said I don't fight young fighters. They always talk, but I'm the best fighter in the world,” said Canelo.
In the latest edition of the historic boxing rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico, Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) sent his legion of fans into a frenzy early as he connected on a perfect left hook midway through round three that sent Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) to the mat. Berlanga was able to make it through the round and tried to impose his physicality on Canelo, with the two getting tied up, trading low blows and nearly hitting the canvas in a tense moment during round five.
"I got a little angry with his tactics, but I'm Mexican man,” said Canelo. “It means a lot to fight on this day. It's an honor to represent my country on this day.”
"I'm upset because at the end of the day I'm a winner,” said Berlanga. “I fought a legend tonight and did my best to represent Puerto Rico. We're fighters and we try to throw our opponent off their game. I took his best shot and I knew I could take his punches and return them. I could have jabbed a lot more, but I was in there with a legend.”
Using the ring generalship that’s made him a future Hall of Famer, Canelo continued to control the action, turning up the heat in the later rounds, landing 16 power shots in round eight and 20 in round ten, according to CompuBox. The punch stats reflected Canelo’s dominance throughout the 12 rounds, as he out landed Berlanga 201 to 119.
"My experience and my talent was the difference,” said Canelo. “It's about hard work and intelligence. It's everything together. If you have talent, you need discipline as well.”
Berlanga remained game throughout, continuing to throw punches and look for openings, even as Canelo broke him down with his varied attack. In the end, Canelo’s 49% connect rate on power punches buoyed him to victory by scores of 118-109 twice and 117-110.
"A lot of people say we can't, but we can,” said Canelo “Las Vegas is like a second home for Mexicans. We are warriors and we never give up. I’m going to rest and then I'm going to decide what's next."
In the co-main event, WBA Middleweight World Champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (31-3-3, 19 KOs) scored his fourth-straight knockout as he stopped former two-division champion Danny “Swift” Garcia (37-4, 21 KOs) after nine rounds. The matchup pitted two of this era’s most accomplished fighters against each other, as the two had combined to face 21 world champions heading into the fight.
"I'm okay. I came off a two year layoff and tried to be great, and it wasn't my night,” said Garcia. “No excuses. I didn't think the layoff would affect me like that, but there's no excuses. I couldn't find my rhythm. He had a strong jab and was controlling the distance well.”
Boxing’s oldest reigning world champion and the oldest Cuban world champion of all time, Lara showed off the signature boxing skills that have allowed him to remain at the top of the sport for years. Lara’s movement held Garcia to just a 17% connect rate, while Lara was able to land over 37% of his power punches.
"I felt that I boxed beautifully,” said Lara. “It was a work of art, like a Picasso. I negated everything Danny had. He's a great fighter and a Hall of Famer just like me. I used lateral movement with a long jab to land my big shots, just like you learn at the Cuban school of boxing.”
Garcia trailed 88-82 on all three cards at the time of the stoppage but appeared to have his best round in the eighth, getting the nod on all three cards for the first time in the fight. However in round nine Lara again looked in control, eventually capping his performance with a clean left to the head that sent Garcia down for the first time in his career.
"The punches I was landing were hurting him,” said Lara. “That punch that ended the fight was a big shot.”
Garcia was able to make it to the corner after the bell ended round nine, but after a conversation with his father and trainer Angel Garcia, the corner officially waved off the bout.
"At the end of the day my dad is always gonna do what's best for me,” said Garcia. “I tried to conquer a third division and I came up short. I've been at the top of the game for a long time, I take this on the chin like a true champion."
Despite his status as boxing’s oldest world champion, Lara declared his intention to continue his illustrious career.
“I'm ready for the next challenge,” said Lara. “I'm here to stay. I have a lot of boxing left in me."
Pay-per-view action also saw former super middleweight world champion Caleb Plant (23-2, 14 KOs) bounce back from a knockdown to stop the previously unbeaten Trevor McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs) in round nine to capture the Interim WBA Super Middleweight Title.
"It was a pretty tough fight, I was just easing in,” said Plant. “I proved that I can fight on the inside tonight and I did what I had to do to get that WBA belt.”
Plant used his speed advantage to control the first round, but McCumby bounced back well in round two with a series of big left hooks that appeared to have Plant dazed heading back to his corner. McCumby took that momentum into round four, as he landed a left hook to the body that appeared to hit Plant’s shoulder, but nonetheless sent him to the mat for a knockdown.
"He caught me pulling out and hit me in the shoulder, but that's part of the game,” said Plant. “He came in with wild punches and I just had to stay focused. That's what champions do.”
After recovering from the knockdown, Plant came out in round five making a key adjustment by positioning himself directly in McCumby’s chest to blunt his power. Showing his ability to dominate on the inside, Plant landed a staggering 32 body shots across a huge round five that saw him bring the crowd to their feet with his combination of offensive prowess and showmanship.
"I noticed that he wanted to fight more on the inside,” said McCumby. “When I was sparring I had caught a lot of guys with left hooks while I was back on the ropes. It was one of my better shots. I was trying to catch him but I couldn't get him clean enough. He adjusted well.”
He continued his positive momentum throughout the rest of the fight before closing the show in style by landing 37 power punches in round nine. At the end of the round, Plant again forced McCumby to the ropes and teed off with power shots until referee Allen Huggins waved off the bout 2:59 into the frame.
"I knew I had him hurt and had to go to work,” said Plant. “It was time to get my belt. Now I'm ready to go home and play with my daughter."
Opening up the pay-per-view, former super lightweight world champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Manuel Jaimes (16-2-1, 11 KOs) in their 10-round super lightweight attraction. Romero was victorious by the score of 99-91 according to all three judges.
In his first bout since losing his world title to Isaac Cruz in March, Romero showed improved movement and defense in keeping the aggressive Jaimes from putting his offense together effectively. Meanwhile, Romero was able to land sharp power punches on the inside that caught the judges’ attention and helped him secure the win.
"I needed a tough 10-round fight against someone hungry and that's what I got tonight,” said Romero. “I was doing a lot of stuff tonight that I should have done in my earlier fights.”
"The judges saw what they saw, I'd have to watch the tape to be able to score it myself,” said Jaimes. “I could have been more active, that would have helped me land more.”
Romero favored the power shots throughout the night, with 81 of his 112 total landed punches being categorized as such. His best rounds came later in the fight as he connected on 19 power punches in round eight and 16 in round nine.
"Jaimes was coming forward a lot, but I was controlling the pace,” said Romero. “The fight was going how I wanted it to. In the later rounds I started coming forward more and landing more body shots. Hopefully I'm fighting for a title next. I have my eye on any of the champions."
Prior to the pay-per-view, PBC on Prime Video action was topped by former unified world champion Stephen Fulton Jr (22-1, 8 KOs) going toe-to-toe with Carlos Castro (30-3, 14 KOs) across 10-rounds of featherweight action, with Fulton edging Castro via split-decision (96-93 Fulton, 95-94 Fulton and 95-94 Castro).
In his first fight at featherweight, Philadelphia’s Fulton was able to bounce back from being dropped by a piercing straight right from Castro in round five.
"My coaches were telling me to keep my left hand up because he was trying to get the right hand in over the top,” said Fulton. “I allowed it to get through and I had to overcome adversity.”
The fight was as close in punch stats as it was on the scorecards, with Castro out landing Fulton 167 to 159, while Fulton held a 35% to 26% edge in connect rate. Fulton was able to win the final two rounds on two of the three judges’ cards to clinch the victory.
"I could have let my hands go a little bit more,” said Fulton. “I didn't want to box too much because I felt so good, but I could have boxed with my legs more. I have to get back in the gym, work on my movement and come back for the world title.”
The streaming presentation also saw the Isaac Cruz Sr.-trained Ricardo Salas (20-2-2, 15 KOs) deliver a highlight-reel KO of Roiman Villa (26-3, 24 KOs) 2:06 into the third round of their welterweight clash. Kicking off the stream was unbeaten super featherweight Geo Lopez (17-0, 12 KOs), who’s trained by the renowned Eddy Reynoso, delivering a dominant unanimous decision over Ricky Medina Jr. (15-3, 8 KOs) by the score of 80-71 according to all three judges. These bouts streamed live via free access to all fans, regardless of Prime membership or purchase of the PPV card it led into.
The event was promoted by Canelo Promotions and TGB Promotions, in association with Matchroom Boxing. .
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