Antonio Margarito vs Miguel Cotto 1 and 2, Saul Alvarez versus Miguel Cotto, Fernando Vargas versus Felix Trinidad, and Oscar de La Hoya versus Felix Trinidad. Most casual boxing fans will recognize these fights because they were high profile boxing matches that happened to pit a Mexican boxing star against a Puerto Rican boxing star. Those fights were some of the biggest of the last 25 years between the two Spanish-speaking nations but the rivalry dates to the mid 1930’s.
On Saturday, September 14th, 2024 (the weekend before Mexican Independence Day on 16 September), the next chapter of the most storied rivalry in boxing will be renewed when 34-year-old, Mexican boxing icon Saul “Canelo” Alvarez [61-2-2, 39 KOs] welcomes 27-year-old, Puerto Rican upstart Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga { 22-0, 17 KOs } to “The Canelo Show”.
Over the years, the two nations have purportedly competed in nearly 160 fights with Puerto Rico leading the series by an estimated 10 wins. It’s a safe bet to say that if Berlanga were to get a win on September 14th, it would be the biggest in the history of the rivalry. Why? Because: 1) Alvarez is a -2000 favorite and Berlanga is a +1000 underdog, 2) Three (3) of the alphabet titles are on the line (WBA, WBC, and WBO) along with the Ring Magazine title, and 3) He would have beaten Alvarez, a man that has only tasted defeat twice; Floyd Mayweather Jr and against current, undefeated, WBA light heavyweight champion Dimitri Bivol.
This is the biggest fight of Berlanga’s career. To Alavarez, it’s just another fight that he’s headlining. He’s used to all the attention, cameras, reporters, interviews, and press conferences but Berlanga is not. And that makes a big difference. For his part, Berlanga is talking the talk—and I like it—but will he walk the walk once inside the squared circle, a place where the truth is revealed? He believes his youth, power, reach, and ring IQ will prevail. He’s claiming that he’s the hardest hitting boxer that Alvarez has faced. I’ll respectfully disagree there. Alvarez has faced Gennady Golovkin three (3) times, Danny Jacobs, Sergey Kovalev, and in April of this year, Jaime Mungia. I rate all of them as more powerful punchers than Berlanga. He’s also claiming he’s going to win via knockout. Well, that bet is +2500. You might as well throw your money away. None of the previous heavy hitting boxers could so much as visibly hurt Alvarez, let alone take him off his feet. In fact, the only time Alvarez has been visibly hurt in a fight was when he fought Jose Cotto (an older brother of Miguel) at 147 pounds over 14 years ago. But, hey, everybody must have a dream, right? I don’t believe that Berlanga brings any abilities/qualities that Alvarez hasn’t seen before because he’s not more technical or tactical than the two boxers who have beaten Alvarez and he’s neither tougher nor a better puncher than the boxers Alvarez has recently beaten. Unfortunately, for Berlanga, Alavarez is the is the best boxer that he has ever faced (in all the aforementioned categories). The intrigue, from my perspective, is whether Berlanga will fight to win or simply “fight” for the right to say he went the distance against the champ. Either way, as all of Alvarez’s opponents before him, he’ll make a career high payday for his efforts.
There’s also intrigue on the Alvarez side because it appears he’s been hand-picking his opponents…and he has. He’s not the first to do it and he certainly won’t be the last. He feels it’s a right that he’s earned…and he has. While pundits and fans didn’t want to see this fight, none of us are the man in the ring taking punches to the head and body to earn a living in such an exploitive sport. So, since he’s chosen “The Chosen One”, it’s up to Alavarez to emphatically show what appears to be the case on paper…that Berlanga isn’t on his level. Alvarez has gone the distance in each of his last four (4) wins, but he’s knocked down each of his last three (3) opponents. His last win via stoppage was against Caleb Plant who, like Berlanga, was talking plenty of trash up until the time he started catching hands from Alvarez. I suspect that Berlanga, if he chooses to display his Boricua pride, will also not be around for the final bell. However, boxing is the theatre of the unexpected and anything can happen so it’s up to Alvarez to turn Berlanga’s dreams into nightmares and then move on to better, stiffer competition. Viva Mexico! Enjoy the fistivities!
The Fight Doctor (TFD) is a martial arts enthusiast and combat sports aficionado. He’s been watching boxing since Sugar Ray Leonard won the Olympics in 1976 and remembers watching The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) when they were on VHS tapes. TFD began practicing Hapkido and boxing in 1998 and has one (1) amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) fight to his name (a loss). Aptly dubbed “The Fight Doctor” at an early age by friends in Chicago, TFD provides knowledge and insights into fights that are not commonly known or shared by mainstream media. Find his articles exclusively at VegasTickets.com and related social media platforms.
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