By Abu Mahmood: On September 14th, Edgar Berlanga (22-0-0, 17KOs) challenges for the unified tremendous middleweight WBO, WBA, and WBC championships in his first world title shot. Within the different nook, seeking to defend and retain these world titles, is Canelo Álvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs).
To many, this matchup is a foregone conclusion, however within the sport of boxing, the place one punch can change your entire dynamic of a struggle, nothing might be counted out.
So, how do these 2 match up towards one another?
On this article, we’ll discover a number of the benefits that each fighters possess towards one another.
Edgar Berlanga
Top and attain: Berlanga stands tall at 6ft 1in with a attain of 73 inches. A fighter with an extended attain is ready to dictate the struggle utilizing their attain to their benefit by preserving the opponent at bay and timing them. Utilizing his attain, Berlanga is ready to time and catch his opponents with punches they don’t see coming. A bonus he used to safe 16 first-round knockouts.
In a position to change tempo at will: Berlanga is the youthful fighter at 27 years outdated and has much more within the gasoline tank as he has not been in lots of wars. This enables him to remain contemporary and permits him to alter and dictate the tempo of the struggle when he needs. Baiting the opponent into slowing down after which all of the sudden coming ahead with pictures is one thing Berlanga does to throw his opponents off in order that they don’t chill out and get comfy. A nervous opponent is one that’s susceptible to extra errors.
Aggression: Berlanga is understood for his aggression and his willingness to come back ahead and keep on the entrance foot. This enables him to bully the opponent and shut them down. Easy issues like slicing the ring off or preserving the entrance hand hovering barely above the opponent’s hand can enable a fighter to dictate the circulate of the struggle.
Canelo Álvarez:
Expertise: For Canelo, this will likely be his 66th struggle. After preventing on the most important phases in boxing, he’s used to nerves and the way it feels to be on that stage with 1000’s of spectators. This can are available helpful as a relaxed fighter is one which focuses extra and is much less distracted by the massive lights and the cheers and jeers of the group.
Energy: Canelo is understood for his devastating energy and he has proven this all all through his profession. Most notably in his struggle towards Amir Khan, the place he knocked him out with a perfectly-timed proper hand within the sixth spherical. His struggle towards Billy Joe Saunders is one other, more moderen instance of Canelo’s energy, by which he broke Saunder’s orbital bone.
Struggle IQ: Canelo has fought many opponents and has fought towards many alternative kinds. He’s used to preventing towards taller opponents reminiscent of Rocky Fielding. Álvarez has fought towards completely different kinds, which permits him to adapt to completely different methods and permits him to adapt his gameplan on the go.
On this writers opinion, this struggle will rely totally on what Berlanga can deliver to the desk by way of his gameplan. Canelo is 34 and has proven indicators of slowing down and as Berlanga is getting into his prime at 27, that is his probability to etch his title within the historical past books.
That being stated, Canelo has fended off a plethora of challengers and has proven that dethroning him will likely be a punch-perfect process. With Canelo’s expertise, will this be one other Canelo masterclass, or will Edgar Berlanga shock the world and take his seat on the throne of the super-middleweight division?
