Notebook: Canelo, Berlanga predict KOs in Mexico-PR rivalry fight
'Tank' Davis update; no 'Bam'-Estrada rematch; Edwards, Yafai set for flyweight battle; BetUS show; Quick hits; Show and tell
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LAS VEGAS — Unified and lineal super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez usually does not make knockout predictions, but he is this time around. So is his challenger, Edgar Berlanga.
They square off on Mexican Independence Day weekend in the main event of a PBC on Prime PPV on Saturday (Prime Video PPV, PPV.com, DAZN PPV, 8 p.m. ET, $89.99) at T-Mobile Arena, where both claim the scorecards from the judges will not be needed.
Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs), 34, who will make his eighth 168-pound title defense, has gone five fights in a row without a stoppage, including in a decision loss challenging Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light heavyweight title in May 2022.
Last time Alvarez scored a knockout it was in one of the most significant fights of his career. He knocked out Caleb Plant in the 11th round of their unification fight to become the undisputed 168-pound champion, the first in division history, also at T-Mobile Arena.
Despite the recent power outage, Alvarez seemed confident he would notch one against heavy underdog and untested Berlanga, who has never fought anyone at the top level before.
“I’m knocking him out in eight rounds, or less,” Alvarez said. “He’s a good fighter, he’s strong, but he’s nothing new to me. I have a lot of experience, and he’s going to feel it on Saturday.
“It’s easy to say you’ll knock me out, but it’s much more difficult to do it. Saturday night is gonna be very difficult for him, for sure. I’ve prepared for the knockout. I love the feeling of a knockout and I’m gonna do my best to get it done.”
It seemed like he cold have gotten it done in May when he defended against Mexican countryman Jaime Munguia, who he knocked down in the fourth round. But it seemed to many that once he had the fight under control, Alvarez carried Munguia, who he liked and respected, wishing not to embarrass his countryman by knocking him out.
At one point in the 11th round, when Alvarez hammered Munguia with a powerful punch and hurt him, he seemed to grab him by the arm to hold him up. Alvarez didn’t deny that he let Munguia off the hook when asked about it by Fight Freaks Unite.
“Yeah, I like my people from Mexico and, you know, I was having fun in the fight,” Alvarez said. “I really enjoyed it a lot. And I said to my trainer (Eddy Reynoso), you know, if I really put everything in in one or two rounds I can maybe finish Munguia. But I was having fun, taking my time, and I think the people enjoyed the fight.”
Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), 27, began his career with 16-consecutive first-round knockouts and then went the distance in his next five bouts before drilling then-unbeaten Padraig McCrory in the sixth round of a WBA final title elimination fight on Feb. 24.
He believes he will make it two in row against Alvarez, who has shown a historically outstanding chin. He has never been knocked down and only visibly hurt once, in the first round from a shot by Jose Miguel Cotto in 2010.
“I’m going to knock him out in the sixth round,” Berlanga said. “When it’s time to shine, I always come through. This is war. It’s Puerto Rico versus Mexico. We’re about to make history.”
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Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry
The rivalry between Mexican and Puerto Rican fighters is the most storied in boxing and it will add another chapter when Mexican star Alvarez defends against the Brooklyn, New York-born Puerto Rican Berlanga.
Berlanga, who is getting his first taste of the big time as he challenges for his first world title, is extremely excited to be a part of the rivalry.
“I feel like it will be up there like when (Felix) Trinidad fought Oscar De La Hoya and (Fernando) Vargas, when ‘Macho’ Camacho fought Julio Cesar Chavez. That type of magnitude of a fight,” Berlanga told Fight Freaks Unite. “I’m excited. We got to win. That’s what’s on my mind, regardless of the Mexico-Puerto Rican thing. My main thing is getting that W.
Alvarez has faced Puerto Rican opponents in the past, including wins over Miguel Cotto to win the middleweight title, Kermit Cintron and Jose Miguel Cotto, Miguel’s older brother. But he has not faced a Puerto Rican since outpointing Miguel Cotto in their 2015 mega fight.
“I feel very proud about that fight because Miguel Angel Cotto, I watched him when I was young to learn a lot,” Alvarez said. “One of my favorite fighters, and to beat him for me was special. There is Canelo before and after Miguel Angel Cotto. So it was a very special night for me and I am happy to be in another rivalry fight, Mexico versus Puerto Rico.”
Canelo-Berlanga PPV lineup
Super middleweights: Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) vs. Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), 12 rounds, for Alvarez’s WBC/WBO/WBA title
Middleweights: Erislandy Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs) vs. Danny Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs), 12 rounds, for Lara’s WBA title
Super middleweights: Caleb Plant (22-2, 13 KOs) vs. Trevor McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs), 12 rounds, for vacant WBA interim title
Junior welterweights: Rolando Romero (15-2, 13 KOs) vs. Manuel Jaimes (16-1-1, 11 KOs), 10 rounds
Preliminaries free on Prime Video (6 p.m. ET)
Featherweights: Stephen Fulton (21-1, 8 KOs) vs. Carlos Castro (30-2, 14 KOs), 10 rounds
Welterweights: Roiman Villa (26-2, 24 KOs) vs. Ricardo Salas (19-2-2, 14 KOs), 10 rounds
Junior lightweights: Jonathan Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) vs. Richard Medina (15-2, 8 KOs), 8 rounds
‘Tank’ Davis update
Despite reporting from various outlets that WBA lightweight titlist Gervonta “Tank” Davis would next fight on Nov. 2 in the main event of a PBC on Prime pay-per-view, sources with knowledge of PBC’s plans told Fight Freaks Unite that is not happening.
TGB Promotions, which promotes the PBC events, did have the date on hold with the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a possible event in Las Vegas, but promoters place date and venue holds often that don’t necessarily result in an event.
If Davis opts to fight again his year — and it is unclear if he will — possible dates for his return would be Nov. 23 or Dec. 14 at a site to be determined, one of the sources said.
Davis (30-0, 28 KOs), 29, a southpaw from Baltimore, retained his 135-pound world title via eighth-round knockout of then-unbeaten Frank Martin on June 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
When Davis returns, who he will face is undetermined. Names floated by those involved with PBC as possible opponents are WBA junior welterweight titlist Jose Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs), 25, a Mexico native fighting out of Renton, Washington, who earned a split decision against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz to take the title on Aug. 3, and Washington., D.C., native Lamont Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs), 29, who is the WBA junior lightweight titleholder.
No ‘Bam’-Estrada rematch
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez kicked off his second reign with the WBC junior bantamweight title by knocking out Juan Francisco Estrada in the seventh round of a tremendous fight on June 29 in Phoenix, and expected his next fight would be a rematch.
Estrada (44-4, 28 KOs), 34, of Mexico, had the contractual right and invoked that right with the rematch targeted for December.
However, according to Matchroom Boxing, Estrada has decided not to go forward with the rematch and instead will move up in weight and continue his career at bantamweight and look for an opportunity to win a world title in a third division.
Matchroom Boxing will now look to set up Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs), 24, of San Antonio, a two-division champion, to face an opponent to be determined in his first defense, which is still targeted for December.
Edwards-Yafai is set
Former flyweight titlist Sunny Edwards and British countryman Galal Yafai, a 2020 Olympic gold medalist, will square off in the main event of a Matchroom Boxing card on Nov. 30 (DAZN) at BP Pulse Live in Birmingham, England, it was announced on Friday.
“It’s the right fight for both men. In my opinion these are the best two flyweights in the world,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said. “Edwards will feel he’s the favorite heading into this one as he looks to recapture gold at 112 pounds. Olympic gold medal hero Yafai hasn’t put a foot wrong so far in the pro ranks. This is a massive step up for him but one that he will be confident of overcoming. It has all the makings of a brilliant fight.”
The match, in Yafai’s hometown, has been on the drawing board since April, when Edwards re-signed with Matchroom Boxing.
The hope was Edwards would rebound from his ninth-round knockout loss to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a flyweight unification fight in December to defeat former junior flyweight titlist Adrian Curiel in June and then move on to the Yafai bout. Edwards (21-1, 4 KOs), 28, indeed won by ninth-round technical decision and now the fight with Yafai (7-0, 5 KOs), a 31-year-old southpaw, is on.
“This fight has always been inevitable,” said Edwards, who owns an amateur win over Yafai. “Our last names hold weight in British boxing and around the world and it’s really time to put to bed the Edwards-Yafai Saga. I beat Galal and was shelved in the same year back in 2015 and now this is my chance to show Britain who the real golden boy is.”
Yafai is taking a huge step in terms of pro competition but he is on the fast track due to his age and amateur pedigree.
“I’m happy that the fight has been made,” Yafai said. “This is going to be a massive fight for British boxing. I need to win a world title, and this is a fight that will put me on the cusp of fighting for one when I win in my hometown on Nov. 30.”
Canelo Alvarez interview
If you missed the recent podcast episode that includes my one-on-one interview with superstar Canelo Alvarez ahead of his defense against Edgar Berlanga on Saturday, we broke it out separately and you can listen to it here. Give it a listen, a review, and also subscribe to get an alert when the next episode is available. New shows every Thursday and Sunday night.
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked three fights on the big PPV card on Saturday: unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez’s defense against Edgar Berlanga, WBA middleweight titlist Erislandy Lara’s defense against Danny Garcia; and the vacant WBA interim super middleweight title bout between Caleb Plant and Trevor McCumby. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Weights from Las Vegas for the PBC on Prime PPV Saturday night (Prime Video PPV, PPV.com, DAZN PPV, 8 p.m. ET): Canelo Alvarez 166.8 pounds, Edgar Berlanga 167.6 (for Alvarez’s WBC/WBO/WBA super middleweight title); Erislandy Lara 156.8, Danny Garcia, 156.2 (for Lara’s WBA middleweight title); Caleb Plant 167.2, Trevor McCumby 167.2 (for vacant WBA interim super middleweight title); Rolando Romero 140.8, Manuel Jaimes 139.8; Stephen Fulton 126, Carlos Castro 125.6; Roiman Villa 146.2, Ricardo Salas 146; Jonathan Lopez 130, Richard Medina 130; Yoenli Hernandez 158.4, Jose Sanchez Charles 164.4; Lawrence King 178, Vaughn Williams 176; Bek Nurmaganbet 170.8, Joshua Conley 173.2.
Weights from Hermosillo, Mexico, for the Matchroom Boxing card on Friday on DAZN (8 p.m. ET): Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez 129 pounds, Thomas Mattice 129; Sergio Mendoza 110.4, Angel Ramos Serrano, 110.4; Julio Porras 167.8, Isaac Torres 167.2; Leonardo Rubalcava 138, Jesus Castorena 140.3.
Germany-based Cuban William Scull (22-0, 9 KOs), 32, and Vladimir Shishkin (16-0, 10 KOs), 33, a Russia native fighting out of Detroit, will meet for the vacant IBF super middleweight title on Oct. 19 in Falkensee, Germany, Agon Sports, Scull’s promoter, announced. They will fight for the 168-pound belt stripped from Canelo Alvarez, who declined to fight the unknown, unaccomplished mandatory challenger Scull, which cost him undisputed champion status.
Las Vegas junior lightweight Andres “Savage” Cortes (22-0, 12 KOs), 27, suffered a training injury, forcing him out of a 10-round co-feature against Charly Suarez on the Jaime Munguia-Erik Bazinyan card Sept. 20 (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10:30 p.m. ET) at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, Top Rank announced. Moving up the card to the co-feature is an eight-round heavyweight bout between 2020 Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. (10-0, 10 KOs), 25 of Tulare, California, and Joey Dawejko (28-11-4, 16 KOs)., 34, of Philadelphia. Suarez (17-0, 9 KOs), 36, of the Philippines, will remain on the card against Jorge Castaneda (17-3, 13 KOs), 27, of Laredo, Texas, in a 10-round preliminary.
Harlem Eubank, whose announced junior welterweight fight with British countryman Adam Azim was postponed after Azim pulled out with an injury this summer and eventually canceled, will headline a Wasserman Boxing card on Oct. 25 (Channel 5 in U.K.) in Bolton, England. Eubank (19-0, 8 KOs), 30, who is the nephew of British legend Chris Eubank Sr., is moving up to welterweight and will face Nurali Erdogan (16-3, 1 KO), 27, of France. The fight will be Eubank’s first since signing a multi-fight deal with Wasserman Boxing earlier this month. “I will have been out of the ring for almost year, so I plan on issuing a timely reminder as to what I am all about,” Eubank said.
Etinosa Oliha (20-0, 8 KOs), 26, of Italy, and Alexander Pavlov (21-3, 15 KOs), 36, of Germany, will meet in an IBF middleweight title eliminator for the No, 2 position in the organization’s rankings on Saturday (DAZN, 1 p.m. ET) in the main event of an Agon Sports card at the Agon Sportspark in Berlin, Germany. The winner will be a step closer to a mandatory shot at IBF/WBO titlist Janibek Alimkhanuly, who first has his current IBF mandatory defense to make against Andrei Mikhailovich on a date to be announced after No Limit Boxing, Mikhailovich’s promoter, won a recent purse bid.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs), who won a majority decision over Serhii Bohachuk to claim the WBC interim junior middleweight title on Aug. 10 in a blazing fight of the year contender, will be honored by his hometown of Grand Prairie, Texas, during its Grand Fiestas Patrias on Saturday. Ortiz will be celebrated during a parade.
Show and tell
It’s yet another Canelo Alvarez fight weekend in Las Vegas, which is always a big deal. I will be covering my 23rd Canelo fight in person on Saturday night when he defends the unified super middleweight title against Edgar Berlanga. In recent years, physical tickets for boxing events, and all live events, are used less and less, so it has been more difficult for collectors such as myself to add them to our collections since so few are produced. But they still do make physical tickets and I am super pumped up that this week in Las Vegas I was able to secure tickets for my collection to a whole bunch of recent notable fights in Las Vegas, including from three Canelo fights, all of which I covered. Here are tough physical tickets to find from his third fight with Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermell Charlo and Jaime Munguia.
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Photos: Canelo-Berlanga and Berlanga: Ryan Hafey/PBC; Davis: Esther Lin/PBC; Rodriguez-Estrada: Amanda Westcott/Matchroom Boxing
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Can’t believe I’m about to shell out $90 for this PPV. But then, I skipped Haney-Garcia because of its horrendous undercard, and look what happened. FOMO is a real bitch, man.
I have Amazon Prime. The only Boxing content even somewhat shown on their Home Page, as of yesterday, was the ProBox card. PBC and their events get featured by Amazon less than a pack of Tube Socks. DAZN and Eddie Hearn have done ALL of the work to promote this fight. They're the ones presenting interviews, podcasts, and multiple other types of shoulder programming. Apparently TGB Promotions is little more than the Genco Oil of Boxing.