Edgar Berlanga is miles away from getting to a point where he can justifiably demand a rematch against Canelo Alvarez. However, there’s nothing stopping the 28-year-old from expediting that process. This comes right on the heels of Berlanga’s first fight since the loss at the hands of the Mexican Superstar in September last year.
Canelo dropped Berlanga in round three en route to a unanimous decision victory at the iconic T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After getting his resume painted in red for the first time in his career, the Nuyorican bounced back with a spectacular win reminiscent of his early days in the sport. The Brooklyn-born puncher knocked out fellow countryman Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz in the 1st round of their fight with 30 seconds left on the clock on 15th March at the Caribe Royale Arena in Orlando.
Berlanga, reportedly, never wanted this fight but was forced to accept the challenge because of his contract with Matchroom Boxing, which stipulated Berlanga would have a tune-up fight on an undercard if he lost to Canelo Alvarez. Nonetheless, Berlanga wanted to fight IBF super middleweight champion William Scull, where a win could have positioned him for a rematch against the former undisputed super middleweight champion.
I have 17 FIRST ROUND KNOCKOUTS WTF
— Edgar Berlanga Jr (@EdgarBerlangaJr) March 19, 2025
It’s unclear whether Berlanga would continue doing business with Matchroom Boxing, but he seems to be making a case for doing business with Canelo Alvarez once again, something he admitted to right after his win over Gonzalez-Ortiz. “We’re going to do the rematch; we’re going to do the rematch in 2026. Let’s go! You know that Puerto Rico and Mexico are the best. I did it,” he stated to Chris Mannix. “I have 17 FIRST-ROUND KNOCKOUTS WTF ,” Berlanga reiterated hours ago on X to make a case for a rematch. It’s true that ‘The Chosen One’ does have 17 first-round knockouts, but does that really matter?
Does 17 first-round knockouts justify a rematch between Edgar Berlanga & Canelo Alvarez?
Even though the 17 first-round knockouts look good on his resume from the outside, the reality is much different. First of all, Berlanga secured 16 of those consecutive knockouts when he started his boxing career in 2016 against low-level opponents and journeymen. But even if you ignore that, Berlanga stopped knocking out his opponents in 2021.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 14: Saul Canelo Alvarez (R) punches Edgar Berlanga (L) during the WBC, WBA, WBO World Super Middleweight Championship fight at T-Mobile Arena on September 14, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Excluding Padraig McCrory, most of his fights have gone the distance since then—it took someone who has previously taken an 11-year hiatus from the sport for Berlanga to replicate his first-round knockout performance. Not to forget, Gonzalez-Ortiz looked wildly out of shape right before the fight. Still, even if you ignore that as well, it hasn’t been that long since Canelo outboxed and outperformed Berlanga, showing he is nowhere near his level. It looks like it will take a while before the Nuyorican can successfully lure the Mexican champion back into the ring once again.
That said, Edgar Berlanga can desire a rematch all he wants, but it would take some big wins against big names to make that even a possibility. Do you think Edgar Berlanga deserves a rematch?
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