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Former commentator Jim Lampley says Canelo Alvarez is in a position where the fans will be disappointed if he doesn’t score an early to mid-round knockout of Edgar Berlanga on Saturday.
Berlanga: The Hand-Picked Challenger
Lampley points out that Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) failed to pick the three fighters fans wanted to see him face: David Benavidez, David Morrell, and Terence Crawford.
The Mexican star’s decision to choose Berlanga (22-0 17 KOs) puts him in a position where he must knock him out early, but even if he does, he won’t receive massive credit because he’s not facing one of the elite.
As Lampley mentions, Berlanga’s 16 first-round knockouts that he scored at the beginning of his career were a product of matchmaking. Berlanga was matched by his previous promoters at Top Rank to build a record that looked good in the first place but was 100% empty of quality opposition.
Still, Berlanga chose to leave them when they saw that he was struggling when they stepped him up against slightly better opposition.
When Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn signed Berlanga, he continued with the matchmaking that Top Rank started his career with and then worked to get him the title shot against WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo.
Berlanga isn’t ready for the fight, but no one expects him to be. This is business: selling a fight to the unknowing public involving a fighter with a glittering record who has a large following in sections of New York City.
“Canelo has put himself in a position where anything other than a middle-round knockout based on his skill and remaining power will be a disappointment,” said Jim Lampley to the Sean Zittel YouTube channel, talking about the thought situation Canelo Alvarez is in defending against the inexperienced Edgar Berlanga on Saturday night
Canelo is starting to show age, and he hasn’t knocked out anyone in three years since his 11th-round TKO win over Caleb Plant on November 6th, 2021. Alvarez’s inability to knock out John Ryder and Jaime Munguia recently showed that he cannot score stoppages like he once did. So, what we’re likely to see on Saturday is Canelo going the 12-round distance against Berlanga in a tougher fight than expected.
“He must have a spectacular showing against Berlanga, or this is a failed enterprise,” said Lampley about Canelo. “If he goes the full distance and wins a clear decision, that won’t satisfy the audience,” said Lampley about Canelo.
“If he knocks out Berlanga in four or five rounds, that helps; that will be another positive addition to the resume. But also, to a certain degree, that is what is expected. A tenth-round knockout, that’s expected,” said Lampley.
Berlanga wants to use his jab to follow Dmitry Bivol’s blueprint to defeat Canelo on May 7, 2022. Bivol used more than just jabs to win that fight, but Berlanga seems more focused on his ability to stay on the outside and not get hit.
Berlanga knows that all he needs to do is win, and it doesn’t matter if it goes the 12-round distance. He’ll make a ton of money in the rematch with Canelo and would have many other well-paying fights offered to him.
“The bottom line is he’s not fighting David Morrell, David Benavidez, or Terence Crawford. He’s not fighting any of the people who would have ranked above Berlanga on the opponent’s scale. It’s curious to me that choice he made,” said Lampley.
Canelo didn’t want to fight Morrell, Benavidez and Crawford. Those would have been bigger fights for sure, but they would have been risky for Canelo, and he could have lost. So instead, he chose Berlanga, a no-hoper, one slight step above being a tomato can. He’s not from being that type of fighter and has no chance of beating Canelo unless he gets old overnight.
“I expect a spirited effort from Berlanga in this fight, and I expect him to use the tools that he has. Basically, a straight forward, predictable punching power is not a capability disguised by nuance or variety or all of the sophisticated ways that a puncher sets up his work,” said Lampley.
If Berlanga chooses to box, it won’t be a spirited effort against Canelo because he won’t want to take a risk, especially after he tastes his power early. Berlanga doesn’t have the greatest chin, and he can’t take the kind of power shots from Canelo without getting knocked out or dropped multiple times.
We saw how Marcelo Esteban knocked Berlanga down, and that guy is a C-level fighter. Steve Rolls and Roamer Alexis Angulo also gave Berlanga huge problems.
“In his first 16 first-round knockouts that began his career, it was an extremely eye-catching accomplishment, but it was eye-catching because of the sheer information.
“First 16 first-round knockouts in a row, but once you get past that and begin to analyze, most boxing experts come to the conclusion that it’s matchmaking,” said Lampley about Berlanga’s record.
Berlanga’s 16 first-round knockouts were against lesser opposition, but all you have to do is look at who he fought and check their resumes. They were awful.
It was strange that Top Rank didn’t make any effort to step him up against slightly better opposition until his 17th fight, and even then, it was still poor fighters. Why were they so slow in matching Berlanga against better opposition? The impression that fans have is that they are trying to create a fake star to market him.
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