With Canelo Alvarez, it has been a question of the glass being either half full or half empty. On one side there are those who defend the Mexican champion to the death, no matter who he faces, and on the other there are those who attack his refusal to face better opponents who are capable of measuring themselves in other conditions with the “Face of Boxing”.
He may not be the best version of Alvarez anymore, but what he has was enough to win by unanimous decision on Saturday night against Edger Berlanga, who showed courage and bravery to make up for what he lacks in skills and intelligence in the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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“I performed well. And now what are they going to say? They said that I don’t fight young boxers, and they always talk, but I am the best boxer on the planet,” said Saul Alvarez when interviewed in the ring after his 62nd victory as a professional.
But it is not about facing young boxers, but the best that the fans, or at least a good part of them, have grown tired of asking for, as is the case of David Benavidez and the Cuban David Morell, who left for the light heavyweight division tired of waiting for the Guadalajara native.
Certainly, Berlanga was not at the level of either of them and was in similar or slightly inferior conditions to Canelo’s previous rival, the also Mexican Jaime Munguía, so no one expected a surprise from the Puerto Rican.
In the third round, Canelo gave Berlanga a protective count and at times it seemed like the end of the fight was very near, but Alvarez was unable to go beyond his fighting form and stop his rival, who saw his survival as a merit.
“I am upset because, after all, I am a winner,” said Berlanga. “Tonight I fought against a legend and I gave my best to represent Puerto Rico. We are boxers and we try to disconcert our opponent. I knew I could take his punches and also return them. I could have hit a lot more, but I was there with a legend.”
The glass half full would suggest that Canelo is still in a position to dominate the super middleweight division for a long time, but the glass half empty would make critics believe that, since he cannot knock out for a long time, it would be a different story against Morell or Benavidez.
And as always happens, the question in the air is what’s next for Canelo, who from fight to fight usually stages this kind of fair in search of an opponent, a sort of countdown between May and September that results in a -million-dollar- lottery for the chosen one.
“My experience and my talent made the difference,” he said. “It’s about hard work and intelligence. It’s all together. If you have talent, you also need discipline. We are warriors and we never give up. I’m going to rest and then I’ll decide what’s next.”
Well, let’s hope what follows is better.
Canelo, who has not won by knockout since his victory over Caleb Plant in November 2021, which made history by becoming the first undisputed super middleweight champion, retains the WBC, WBA, and WBO belts. The IBF disowned him months ago for not facing his mandatory challenger.
The 34-year-old did not reveal anything in the ring about his next objective, instead echoing Mexico’s national celebrations.
