Canelo Alvarez exudes confidence ahead of his upcoming fight against unbeaten challenger Edgar Berlanga on September 14th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Mexican superstar believes the outcome is already decided, stating, "I've already won," in a recent interview with Premier Boxing Champions.
Given his impressive record, it’s no surprise that Canelo feels this way. His long career has seen him face and defeat some of the biggest names in the sport, and he now approaches his fights with a more selective approach. Berlanga has pushed hard for this opportunity, though many feel the 27-year-old still lacks the seasoning required to face a fighter of Canelo's caliber. Berlanga struggled in previous fights against opponents like Jason Quigley and Steve Rolls, which has led many to believe that he isn’t quite ready for this level of competition.
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Canelo, defending his WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight titles, has become more strategic in selecting his opponents. Fans are not surprised that he handpicked Berlanga, knowing the younger fighter presents a challenge but one he believes is manageable. Canelo has earned a reputation for vetting his opponents carefully at this stage in his career, focusing on matchups that play to his strengths rather than risky, dangerous bouts like those he took earlier in his career against Gennadiy Golovkin and Miguel Cotto.
Berlanga, now Canelo's WBA mandatory challenger, is aware of the challenge ahead. He has spoken about Canelo's infamous strategy of targeting his opponent's arms, a tactic that helps slow down bigger fighters in the later rounds. "That's his method all the time," Berlanga said. However, Canelo has shown a varied approach in recent fights, focusing more on headshots when he faced opponents like John Ryder, Jermell Charlo, and Jaime Munguia.
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Image Credit: Sky Sports