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Boxing

Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga: The road to major super-middleweight title fight

Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga: The road to major super-middleweight title fight(Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions)
The two men have taken different paths to this blockbuster battle in the ring.

Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga will meet this weekend when the pair go toe-to-toe in the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Mexican will look to mount another successful defence of his super middleweight titles against The Chosen One in the desert.

Berlanga touts an unbeaten professional record, and a fearsome knockout pedigree to boot, but just how have these men come to cross paths?

Here's all you need to know about the stories behind Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga.

How did Canelo Alvarez reach this fight?

  • Nationality: Mexican 
  • Date of birth: July 18, 1990      
  • Height: 5' 7" 
  • Reach: 70.5" 
  • Total fights: 65 
  • Record: 61-2-2 (39 KOs) 

With 65 professional bouts to his name, at just the age of 34, Canelo is arguably one of the most prolific superstar boxers of the modern age.

It helps that his few slip-ups have been anticipated too, with his only career defeats against the iconic Floyd Mayweather Jr. and in a weight-change fight with Dmitry Bivol.

He is no longer the undisputed super middleweight champion, after the IBF stripped him of their belt for failing to face their mandatory challenger back in July.

But defences in his trilogy fight with Gennady Golovkin, plus wins over John Ryder, Jermell Charlo and Jaime Munguía, still means Canelo is the man to beat.

How did Edgar Berlanga reach this fight?

  • Nationality: American
  • Date of birth: May 18, 1997
  • Height:  6'1"
  • Reach: 73" 
  • Total fights: 22
  • Record: 22-0-0 (17 KOs) 

One of the most impressive finishers across his early career, Berlanga won his first 16 bouts not just by knockout, but with all coming in the first round too.

Tougher tests have since forced him the distance, and he arguably established himself when he claimed the NABO super middleweight title against Marcelo Esteban Coceres.

That came on the undercard of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder's trilogy bout back in 2021, and he's added further wins over Steve Rolls, Roamer Alexis Angulo and Jason Quigley.

He most recently fought and delivered a sixth-round TKO victory over Padraig McCrory in February, to set up his fight with Canelo this month.

Watch Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga live September 14 on DAZN (excluding Mexico & Latin America). Click here for details.

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