Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez beat Edgar Berlanga in a one-sided fight, knocking down the young challenger in the third round. Berlanga made it to the final bell, but the judges gave Canelo a clear win on points.
Berlanga came into the fight as the underdog against the Mexican super-middleweight champion. Canelo took control from the start and kept it up throughout the bout. In the third round, he caught Berlanga with a left hook that sent him to the canvas. It's only the second time in Berlanga's career that he's been knocked down.
After the fight, Berlanga talked about what it was like to face Canelo. He said:
"I already told myself 'I know I'm going to get hit, I know I'm going to get hit on my chin', but I've got to bit down on my mouthpiece and push."
Berlanga also explained how the knockdown happened:
"Look what happened in the third round I got hit with a left hook, we had been practicing in camp the whole time, keeping my right hand to my chin and I wound up for this move and he connected right on my chin."
The 27-year-old Berlanga, who now has 23 fights under his belt, said Canelo hit harder than anyone he's faced before. He compared Canelo's power to that of Cuban fighter Roamer Alexis Angulo.
Despite the loss, Berlanga stayed positive:
"It comes with boxing, the greats got dropped got hurt, but it's about how you come back."
Canelo's win over Berlanga adds another impressive victory to his record as a four-weight champion. There's talk that Terence Crawford might be next for Canelo, with rumors of a big money offer from Saudi Arabia to make the fight happen.
