Canelo Alvarez has retained his three super middleweight titles [WBA, WBC and WBO] following a decisive unanimous decision win over the less experienced Edgar Berlanga. The two headlined a PBC show at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 14th this past weekend. Additionally, the middleweight title bout between Erislandy Lara and Danny Garcia saw Lara force Garcia to quit following the 9th round after their bout had turned into somewhat of a mismatch due to Garcia’s inactivity over the past two years.

Canelo Alvarez Vs. Edgar Berlanga

Unified Mexican super middleweight (168 lbs) champion Canelo Alvarez (62-1-1, 39 KO’s) defended his WBA, WBC and WBO titles against Puerto Rican-American challenger Edgar Berlanga (22-1, 17 KO’s) in a match Alvarez was widely expected to win.

Berlanga, 27, came in as the younger and unbeaten fighter but his lack of experience proved to sharply outweigh the advantages he held―which includes his taller 6’1 ft. frame compared to Alvarez’ 5’8 ft. size, and his reach advantage of 73 inches compared to Alvarez’ 70.

From the very start of the fight, Berlanga sought to employ a smarter, more defensive approach with Alvarez, seeking to demonstrate his skills rather than employ the power he has been known for. Unfortunately for the Puerto Rican contender, Alvarez’ own skillset proved to be greater than Berlanga’s, and combined with the Mexican champion’s experience Berlanga found himself pressured early as Alvarez deviated from his more counterattacking style to press the younger fighter on the front foot.

Being not especially known for having a good or tight defense, Edgar Berlanga struggled dealing with Canelo Alvarez and his power, and when compounded with Alvarez’ experience found himself sharply outmatched throughout the entire duration of the fight. The 3rd round saw Alvarez knockdown Berlanga in what was arguably a “flash knockdown”, which was not debilitating, yet it summed up the difference between the two fighters’ levels in an instant.

From that point onward, Canelo Alvarez would largely continue dominating, with Berlanga showing flashes of his skill and power while simultaneously demonstrating he lacked the experience to deal with Alvarez who was efficient at attacking and countering whatever Berlanga threw at him.

To Berlanga’s credit, the Puerto Rican challenger managed to withstand Alvarez’ blows for the entire 12 scheduled rounds, showing his own toughness and a glimpse into his potential as he surprisingly survived to the end of the bell.

After the 12 rounds, Canelo Alvarez was announced as the winner by unanimous decision (UD) through the judges’ scorecards of 118-109 twice, and 117-110―thereby allowing the Mexican champion to retain his 168 lbs titles.

Despite Alvarez’ solid performance, he again seems to have been unable to break the decision streak he has been plagued with since losing to Dmitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KO’s) in 2022, and the expectant knockout (KO) or stoppage victory remained elusive for him on fight night.

Undercard Results

Co-Main Event

The co-main event featured a middleweight (160 lbs) title bout between Cuban-American WBA champion Erislandy Lara (31-3-3, 19 KO’s) and American former world champion Danny Garcia (37-4, 21 KO’s). Notably, Garcia stepped into the ring as a title challenger despite having been unranked due to not having been in the ring since 2022.

Defined by Garcia’s unranked status, his inactivity left him woefully unprepared against the elusive and pinpoint style of Lara’s boxing. Garcia attempted to pressure Lara but it proved to have little effect on the Cuban as he fought expertly on the backfoot to curtail Garcia’s offensive and counter him effectively when needed.

Of the rounds that passed, all seemed to be a struggle for Garcia as he battled against his own fatigue and mental rewiring to a professional bout that he had not participated in for two years. It allowed Lara to seamlessly take control of the bout, and in the latter half-minute of the 9th round Lara virtually sealed the deal when a left hook forced Garcia on his knees to register a knockdown for the WBA champion.

During the break following the 9th round, the match was stopped by the referee after either Garcia, his corner, or both indicated he could no longer continue. With the match waved off, Erislandy Lara was announced the winner by technical knockout (TKO) in the 9th round, allowing him to retain his WBA 160 lbs title for the second time this year.

Undercard

The undercard showed only a couple of surprises or upsets. At welterweight (147 lbs), Venezuelan hard-hitter Roiman Villa (26-3, 24 KO’s) suffered a KO loss to lesser-known Mexican contender Ricardo Salas Rodriguez (20-2-2, 15 KO’s). Encapsulating the upset was the fact Villa fell in just the 3rd round of their 12-round bout.

Former unified super bantamweight (122 lbs) champion Stephen Fulton (22-1, 8 KO’s) also nearly suffered a loss in his featherweight (126 lbs) bout against fellow American Carlos Castro (30-3, 14 KO’s). Fulton went the full 10 rounds with Castro but only narrowly won by split-decision (SD) through the judges’ scores of 94-95, 96-93 and 95-94.

One of the least surprising results on the undercard saw former IBF middleweight champion Caleb Plant (23-2, 14 KO’s) defeat undefeated countryman Trevor McCumby (28-1, 22 KO’s) by TKO in a title match [for the WBA 168 lbs title] he largely took control of. Plant stopped McCumby in the 9th round of their 12-round fight, and appears to be well-suited towards competing against another top 168 lbs contender to prove his worth for a chance to become a world champion once more now that he is the interim WBA middleweight champion. Prior to the fight, Plant had remained absent from the ring for over a year since losing to David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO’s) last year.

Former WBA super lightweight (140 lbs) champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero (16-2, 13 KO’s) also made his return to the ring following his March 30th loss to Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KO’s). Pitted against fellow American contender Manuel Jaimes (16-2-1, 11 KO’s), Cruz proved his talent as he coursed to the 10-scheduled rounds to claim a UD victory over Jaimes.