Canelo Alvarez is going head to head with the UFC’s enormous Las Vegas Sphere card, and he’s doing it in Sin City.
According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Alvarez is finalizing a deal to face Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena on September 14, the same night as Noche UFC at the Sphere. Alvarez has regularly competed during or close to Cinco de Mayo in May and again on Mexican Independence Day weekend in September, and he will continue that trend even with the UFC planning what CEO Dana White called “a love letter to the Mexican people” with Noche UFC.
Alvarez is currently the undisputed super middleweight champion, but that may not be the case when he fights Berlanga on September 14. Canelo could be stripped of the IBF title for not facing that governing body’s mandatory contender, William Skull. If Canelo is stripped, Skull will likely face Vladimir Shiskin for the vacated belt at a later date.
At this point, undisputed titles probably don’t mean much to Canelo. His legacy is secure, and he appears to be in risk-management mode. Berlanga, 27, is 22-0 with 17 KO. He is Puerto Rican and born in New York, so his fight with Alvarez will be the latest chapter in the Mexican-Puerto-Rican boxing rivalry.
Alvarez figures to be a heavy favorite heading into the fight. Despite Berlanga’s undefeated record and 77% KO percentage, he is largely untested on the world-class level. He has good punching power but questionable hand and foot speed, and he appears to be an inferior boxer compared to Canelo. Berlanga is seven years Canelo’s junior, but the Mexican icon has a massive edge in experience.
The future Hall-of-Famer is 61-2-2 with 39 KOs. The only losses on his record came to Floyd Mayweather Jr. exactly 11 years ago, before he is scheduled to face Berlanga, and to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022. Many wanted Canelo to face David Benavidez in his next fight, but the former has repeatedly shown no interest in that bout.
Terence Crawford has told me he would love to move up to 168 pounds to challenge Canelo, but he must handle Israil Madrimov on August 3 before looking ahead to a blockbuster clash. Combat sports fans who love boxing and MMA will have a serious conundrum when September 14 rolls around.
The UFC hasn’t confirmed its lineup of fights for Noche UFC. However, the card is expected to be headlined by UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley defending his title against Merab Dvalishvili. There is a chance at least one more title will be on the line.
White has positioned the event as the greatest sporting event anyone has ever seen. It could dull some of the shine a Canelo fight might typically enjoy if it comes anywhere close to that.
Stay tuned for more information on the Canelo-Berlanga undercard on PBC and Amazon Prime PPV and details on Noche UFC.
