LAS VEGAS — Unbeaten super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defeated challenger Edgar Berlanga on points on Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Arena.
The 34-year-old Alvarez (61-2-2), making his eighth defense of his super middleweight title, wore down his 27-year-old challenger with his experience and dogged pursuit, controlling much of the bout and eliciting a frenzy of 20,312 fans, who frequently chanted “Mexico! Mexico!” and “Ca nel o! Ca nel o!”
Berlanga suffered the first loss of his career and his record now sits at 22-1-0.
“I had a good fight. Now, what will they say? They said I don't fight young guys,” said Alvarez, who will be making the eighth defense of his super middleweight title. “They say that all the time, but I'm the best fighter in the world.”
Judges Max DeLuca and Steve Weisfeld scored the bout 118-109, while judge David Sutherland scored it 117-110.
Berlanga's punch volume was roughly equal to Alvarez's, but the champion was far more accurate: Alvarez landed 201 of 464 punches for a 43.3% success rate, while Berlanga only landed 119 of 446 (26.7%).
Alvarez also improved his success rate with his power punches to 49.1% (133 of 271).
Four-division champion Alvarez has yet to stop a fight early since defeating Caleb Plant by technical knockout nearly three years ago to become the undefeated champion.
The win drought looked to end when a sharp left hook to the jaw dropped Berlanga in the third round, but more attacks from Alvarez seemed to be starting to have an effect.
Alvarez landed a sharp right uppercut in the fifth and a powerful hook in the sixth.
But Berlanga refused to go away, countering Alvarez's manliness and refusing to be bullied by the man he called “my idol” after the fight.
He also went wild in the seventh round, missing a wild overhand right that sent him to the canvas, and then received a warning in the eighth for a headbutt to the face of Alvarez.
“I was a little upset with his tactics, but I'm Mexican,” Alvarez said. “It means a lot to me to fight on this day. It's an honor to represent my country on this day.”
That night, Mexico's Independence Day, was one of the biggest combat sports events in Las Vegas, as the UFC debuted at the Sphere, just three miles off Las Vegas Boulevard, featuring seven Mexican fighters.
Alvarez finished as the -1600 favorite to win at BetMGM Sportsbook, meaning bettors would have had to bet $1,600 to win $100.
The IBF stripped Alvarez of his title after he chose to fight Berlanga instead of facing number one ranked challenger William Scurll.
In a very uneventful WBA middleweight championship bout, 41-year-old Erislandy Lara (31-3-3) successfully defended his title against Danny Garcia (37-4-0) via TKO with a straight left jab to the face three minutes into the ninth round.
Angel, Garcia's father and trainer, called for the fight to be stopped after the round.
“The punches I was throwing were hurting him,” said Lara, boxing's oldest reigning world champion. “The punch that ended the fight was a big one.”
After falling behind on the scorecards early in their fight for the interim WBA super-middleweight belt, Caleb Plant overcame a knockdown in the fourth round to dominate the final four rounds to win by TKO in the ninth round against Trevor McCumby (28-1-0).
With time running out, Plant landed a barrage of punches to McCumbie's head, forcing referee Allen Huggins to stop the bout at 2 minutes, 59 seconds.
“I knew I'd hurt him and I had to go to work,” Plant said. “It's time for me to get my belt. Now I'm ready to go home and play with my daughter.”
In the first bout on the pay-per-view event's main card, Rolando Romero defeated Manuel James (16-2-1) by unanimous decision to improve to 16-2-0. All three judges scored the bout 99-91.
