The fact that Canelo Alvarez is going to fight Edgar Berlanga for three of his four super middleweight belts on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is yet another sign of everything that is wrong with boxing.
The fight that most people want to see, and that was an entirely makeable bout, is one against David Benavidez. Benavidez won an interim light heavyweight title belt in June and has been the mandatory for quite a while for Alvarez's WBC title.
A match with Benavidez would have been 50/50 and would have been a massive attraction at both the gate and on pay-per-view. The pay-per-view business is drying up and numbers are down considerably, and it takes something special to get people to buy.
Tickets go on sale Monday, and watch how high those prices are when they're released. The same is going to be true of the pay-per-view. It's going to be astronomically high.
You're going to pay premium prices for a mid-level event. Berlanga simply doesn't measure up to Alvarez. Berlanga is 22-0 with 17 KOs, but it's against significantly inferior competition. He got a lot of hype at the start of his career for his lengthy first-round KO streak, but when the competition jumped even a bit, the streak ended.
He hasn't faced anyone who was a serious threat or who could expect to last more than a couple of rounds with Alvarez. Alvarez is going to be at least a -1000 favorite and maybe higher when numbers finally start to come out. I wouldn't be shocked if it's as high as -1500 in some places when it opens.
At -1000, Alvarez's implied winning percentage is 99.9.
Contrast that with a Benavidez fight, in which Alvarez might have been a 6-5 or 7-5 favorite at open.
This fight is Alvarez charging Wagyu beef prices for fast food burgers. It's gouging the public.
If the fight was on television or a streaming service and available as part of a subscription, it's another thing entirely. But charging top dollar for what will be a one-sided beatdown -- It says here that Alvarez stops him in four or five rounds -- is outrageous.
Alvarez's highly regarded trainer, Eddy Reynoso, tried to build up Berlanga so as to best sell the show.
“Every day we are preparing,” said Reynoso, who also manages Alvarez. “We know that Berlanga is a good fighter, a strong, undefeated fighter. The confrontations within boxing between Mexico and Puerto Rico are always intense fights, very [tough] fights and, above all, very good boxing. Puerto Rico has produced many world champions and Hall of Fame fighters. Mexico has done the same. It is going to be a very attractive fight against a great fighter in Berlanga who’s undefeated and faced some of the best fighters competing at 168 pounds over the last few years.”
That's just flat wrong.
None of Berlanga's last three opponents -- Padraig McCrory, Jason Quigley and Roamer Alexis Angulo -- are ranked in the Top 15 by any of the sanctioning bodies. Those are clearly the best opponents Berlanga has faced.
Alvarez is a pound-for-pound contender and an all-time great who's headed to the Hall of Fame. He played up the Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry because he knows Berlanga is nowhere near his class as a fighter.
"I am very happy for this fight between Mexico and Puerto Rico,” Alvarez said. “It’s exciting to be part of another great Mexico versus Puerto Rico battle inside the ring because historically we have always offered unforgettable fights full of passion. I am proud to contribute to this legacy and facing an opponent like Edgar Berlanga adds even more excitement and meaning to this event."
Alvarez has long sought out the best opposition he could find.
Somehow, I wish that version of Canelo would return.