By Declan Taylor
IT IS nearly three years since Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez last won a fight inside the distance.
That night he stopped Caleb Plant in the 11th round of their November 2021 showdown, which added the fourth and final super-middleweight belt to his collection, securing his position in the eyes of many as the pound-for-pound No.1.
But 34 months is a long time in boxing and Canelo is not considered the force he once was after defeats to Dmitrii Bivol and a run of four UD wins against Gennady Golovkin, John Ryder, Jermell Charlo and Jaime Munguia.
His former promoter Oscar De La Hoya has suggested another points win is likely this weekend when Canelo faces Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas but a whopping 70.54 per cent of Boxing News app users have picked Canelo by KO/TKO.
Berlanga has so far won all 22 of his professional fights, with 17 of those coming inside the distance. In fact, at one stage, the New Yorker was 16-0, with all 16 coming by way of knockout in the very first round.
Those days are long gone, however, and he is a huge underdog in Sin City on Saturday night – so perhaps it is no surprise that nearly three in four of our app users do not believe Berlanga will hear the final bell in his first step up to the elite level.
There is no doubting the younger, fresher man has a puncher’s chance but that has never been enough for any of Canelo’s previous opponents, with heavy hitters like Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev and Callum Smith unable to put a real dent in him.
There is still time to have your say on the outcome. Download the Boxing News app now and make your pick.