'Canelo' Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga make weight for unified title fight: 'It's war'

Both fighters promise to deliver knockouts at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga on stage after weighing in for their fight in Las Vegas. AFP

The unified super-middleweight world title fight between champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga is all set for Saturday night in Las Vegas after both fighters made weight during Friday's weigh-in.

Alvarez (61-2-2 39 KOs) will defend his WBC, WBA, and WBO belts at T Mobile Arena after tipping the scales at 166.75 pounds, while Berlanga (22-0-0 17 KOs) will contest his first world title fight after weighing in slightly heavier at 167.5 pounds. The weight limit for the super-middleweight division is 168 pounds.

The fight will be Alvarez's ninth consecutive super-middleweight world title fight, a run which started in 2020 when he defeated Callum Smith to claim the Briton's WBA belt and the vacant WBC strap. The Mexican added the WBO title to his collection two fights later by defeating another British fighter, Billy Joe Saunders, before becoming the division's undisputed champion by stopping then-IBF titlist Caleb Plant in November 2021.

Alvarez's only defeat during this run came when he made an audacious step up to light-heavyweight in May 2022 to challenge WBA world champion Dimitrii Bivol, who delivered a masterful performance to win on points. Since then, the pound-for-pound superstar has put together a four-fight win streak, although he has received some criticism for his choice of opponents.

Berlanga, meanwhile, enters the bout as one of the leading contenders in the division. The New York-born Puerto Rican caught the attention of the boxing world by knocking out his first 16 opponents in the first round. That relentless form was checked when he stepped up to 10-round bouts against better fighters, but after four successive points wins, Berlanga returned to knockout form in his last bout in February.

The fight, taking place on Mexican Independence Day weekend, will be the latest in a historic rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico – two nations with rich and storied boxing cultures.

"It’s a war tomorrow,” Berlanga, 27, said. “Puerto Rico vs Mexico ... I love all this right here. It’s all fuel for me. I belong here, you hear me? I belong here.”

When asked for his prediction for how the fight will play out, Berlanga added: “Knockout. And then the rematch, we’re bringing it to New York. Puerto Rican Day weekend.”

Alvarez, who is regarded as the massive favourite to win the fight, had also predicted a knockout victory but was less confrontational following the weigh-in.

“Look, I don’t have much to say about Berlanga anymore,” Alvarez, 33, said. “What I can tell you is he’s about to face someone that’s very, very different than what he’s accustomed to. It’s very easy to say, but he’s going to find out Saturday night. It’s going to be something different.”

The fights on the undercard will also go ahead as planned after all fighters made weight. The co-main event will see WBA middleweight world title holder Erislandy Lara defend his belt against former two-weight world champion Danny Garcia.

The main card will begin with a super-lightweight fight between Rolando Romero, who briefly held the WBA title, and Manuel Jaimes, before former super-middleweight champion Caleb Plant takes on Trevor McCumby.