Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez “is better at everything” and will win via late stoppage against Edgar Berlanga, according to The Action Network’s boxing expert Bryan Fonseca.

Previewing the pair’s Saturday night clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Fonseca said: “[Berlanga’s] going to have a height advantage by several inches and he’s also going to present a reach advantage.

“But the advantage that Edgar Berlanga has physically probably won’t matter because Canelo Alvarez is better at everything. He’s better at moving his head, creating different angles and boxing in a sophisticated way that Edgar Berlanga hasn’t really shown the capabilities of doing so far in his career.”

Canelo, a four-weight world champion, will be putting his WBO, WBA, and WBC super-middleweight titles on the line against Berlanga, an American of Puerto Rican descent.

The Latin American rivalry will be heightened by the fact that the bout is taking place on the weekend leading up to Mexican Independence.

Berlanga is yet to lose in his 22-fight career and set up this fight with Canelo by beating Irishman Padraig McCrory by sixth-round knockout. 

Despite being “the best showing of his career”, Fonseca doesn’t believe that fighting a contender like McCrory has adequately prepared Berlanga for a test like Canelo, a man Fonseca describes as still “one of the most fearsome power punchers in his division”.

Best bets

Looking ahead to the fight, Fonseca’s best bets focus on his belief that Canelo will win by knockout in the later rounds. 

He recommends combining bets of Canelo to score a knockdown and for the fight to last over 6.5 rounds into a parlay at -120. Alternatively, he suggested a similar bet of Canelo Alvarez to win the fight and for the seventh round to start.

“I am convinced that Canelo is going to score a knockdown in this fight. Edgar Berlanga has already been dropped and has been dropped silly in the amateurs,” Fonseca explained.

“Berlanga has a lot of defensive holes in his game that Canelo could easily expose. The other leg is over six and a half rounds. Canelo doesn’t stop guys that early any more if he stops them at all. He hasn’t gotten a stoppage in about three years at this point.”

Despite the prediction of a late stoppage, Fonseca finished his preview by suggesting there is value in a bet on Canelo to score a knockdown inside the first six rounds.