CANELO Alvarez is busy limbering up for his May 3 assignment against William Scull in Riyadh. Many expect another dominant victory for the former undisputed super-middleweight king.
Beating unheralded Scull will earn Canelo back the IBF title he was stripped of, that Scull picked up last October. The Cuban is unbeaten in 23 contests and will be the third undefeated opponent in a row for the Jalisco native. Back on Cinco de Mayo 2024, Canelo popped Jaime Munguia’s 43-0 cherry.
In September that year, he smashed Edgar Berlanga’s 22-0 slate at the same Las Vegas venue. Billed as a one-dimensional puncher, Berlanga had put together a string of early career first-round knockouts before stepping up in levels and struggling to develop a fresh identity.
Edgar returned to the one-round KO scene on Saturday evening, blowing away fellow Puerto Rican Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz in quick time on the Ammo Williams-Patrice Volny Orlando undercard. Before the fight, Berlanga downplayed the role of his unbeaten opponent, who was returning to boxing following a lengthy prison spell. Calling it a small show outing, the ‘Chosen One’ arrived 1.5 pounds over the super-middleweight limit, putting that down to a pre-fight illness that he refused to use as an excuse.
It was Berlanga’s first fight since the Canelo loss and once business was taken care of he wasted little time namechecking the likes of Munguia, Jermall Charlo and rival Caleb Plant. Switching to Spanish, Berlanga stated that Puerto Rico and Mexico are the best, claiming that he and Canelo could have a 2026 rematch.
Even though Berlanga was competitive in the Canelo fight, using his strong jab to bag a couple of rounds, he was floored in round three and comprehensively beaten.
It is unlikely that Canelo or the fans will be eager for a return fixture unless Berlanga embarks on another run of high-profile destructions to justify it. Gonzalez-Ortiz was a step in the right direction, but only by chalking off some of the names he mentioned would the threat become viable once more.
