Saul Canelo Alvarez’s victory over Edgar Berlanga was marred on Saturday night by several heated moments inside the ring.
It was a convincing win for Canelo Alvarez, who defended his WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight titles against Berlanga, who adopted a more defensive approach than expected.
Canelo was afforded far too much time and space to operate, knocking the Puerto Rican down in the third round.
Berlanga was struggling to cope with the power and expertise of the Mexican, which sparked the catalyst for the fight to take a sour turn.
Canelo Alvarez headbutted by Edgar Berlanga
Struggling with the demands of Canelo, Berlanga began to lose his composure throughout the fight.
A devastating shot with the right hand in the ninth round from the 34-year-old left Berlanga rocked and his own corner could be heard asking if he ‘was awake’ while sitting on his stool before going back to the 10th.
His frustrations got the better of him though as the Puerto Rican then launched an intentional headbutt towards Canelo. The Mexican responded with a firm shot before the pair were separated and Berlanga was warned by the referee.
Canelo Alvarez victory paused by mid-fight altercation
Aware he wouldn’t win the fight fairly, Berlanga went down the route of dark-arts boxing to frustrate Canelo.
The first of the incidents saw the referee call for a break however Berlanga ignored the instructions, instead opting to continue throwing his hands.
His actions sparked an angry response from Canelo, leading to the two becoming involved in a verbal altercation.
They then clashed again in the 10th round as the Mexican – assured he would win the fight – let his hands drop and turned away from Berlanga, enabling the 27-year-old to land a shot which once again, set the pair off once more.
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Who will Canelo Alvarez fight next?
Before the fight, Canelo stated that he wanted to fight Dmitry Bivol, so long as he beats Artur Beterbiev in their rescheduled bout on 12 October.
Terence Crawford is also another possibility while the prospect of a highly-anticipated match-up against David Benavidez looks more realistic than ever.
After his victory, Canelo sent a message out to his doubters, saying: “Now what are they going to say? I fight younger fighters? Before they say I fought older fighters. Now what are they going to say? They always talk.
“I’m the best fighter in the world.”