Canelo Alvarez wins unanimous decision in dominating title defense against Edgar Berlanga

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez outpointed challenger Edgar Berlanga on Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Arena.

Making his eighth super middleweight title defense, the 34-year-old Alvarez (61-2-2) dominated much of the fight, using his experience and tenacious pursuit to wear down the 27-year-old challenger, frequently sending 20,312 fans into a frenzy, often chanting “Mexico! Mexico!" or “CA-NEL-O! CA-NEL-O!”

Berlanga lost for the first time in his career, dropping to 22-1-0.

“I did good. Now what are they going to say? They said I don’t fight young fighters,” said Alvarez, who was making his eighth super middleweight title defense. “They always talk, but I’m the best fighter in the world.”

Judges Max DeLuca and Steve Weisfeld scored the fight 118-109, and judge David Sutherland had it 117-110.

Berlanga almost matched Alvarez's punch output, but the champion was much more accurate. Alvarez landed 43.3% (201 of 464) of the punches he threw, while Berlanga connected on just 119 of 446 (26.7%). Alvarez also landed 49.1% (133 of 271) of his power punches.

Alvarez, a four-division champion, still hasn’t ended a fight early since scoring a technical knockout of Caleb Plant nearly three years ago, when he became the undisputed champion.

It appeared that drought might end when a sharp left hook to the chin dropped Berlanga in the third round, and further punishment from Alvarez seemed to be taking a toll. Alvarez landed a crisp right uppercut in the fifth and a vicious hook in the sixth.

But Berlanga wouldn’t go away, as he stood toe-to-toe and matched Alvarez’s machismo, refusing to be bullied by the man he’d call “my idol” after the fight. He also got wild in the seventh, missing a wild overhand right that caused him to fall on the canvas, and was warned for a headbutt to Alvarez’s face in the eighth round.

“I got a little angry with his tactics, but I’m Mexican man,” Alvarez said. “It means a lot to fight on this day. It’s an honor to represent my country on this day.”

It marked one of the biggest nights in combat sports on Mexican Independence Day for Las Vegas, as the UFC made its debut at the Sphere, just three miles down Las Vegas Boulevard, with seven Mexican fighters in the lineup.

Alvarez closed as a -1600 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook, which means a bettor would have had to wager $1,600 to win $100.

The IBF removed Alvarez’s title after he chose to fight Berlanga rather than fight its No. 1 challenger, William Scull.

In a very uneventful WBA middleweight championship bout, 41-year-old Erislandy Lara (31-3-3) successfully defended his title against Danny Garcia (37-4-0) with a TKO at three minutes of of the ninth round thanks to a straight left jab to the face. Garcia’s father and trainer, Angel, requested the stoppage after the round.

“The punches I was landing were hurting him,” said Lara, the oldest active world champion in boxing. “That punch that ended the fight was a big shot.”

After falling behind on the scorecards early during a battle for the interim WBA super middleweight belt, Caleb Plant overcame being knocked down in the fourth, dominated the last four rounds, and earned a ninth-round TKO of Trevor McCumby (28-1-0). With time winding down, Plant unleashed a flurry of punches to McCumby’s head that prompted referee Allen Huggins to stop the bout at the 2:59 mark.

“I knew I had him hurt and had to go to work,” Plant said. “It was time to get my belt. Now I’m ready to go home and play with my daughter.”

In the first fight of the main card on the pay-per-view event, Rolando Romero improved to 16-2-0 with a unanimous decision over Manual Jaimes (16-2-1), with all three judges scoring the fight with identical scores, 99-91.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Edgar Berlanga hits Canelo Alvarez in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Canelo Alvarez hits Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Canelo Alvarez hits Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Edgar Berlanga hits Canelo Alvarez in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Canelo Alvarez hits Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Edgar Berlanga reacts after he was knocked down by Canelo Alvarez in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Referee Harvey Dock pulls Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga apart in their super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Canelo Alvarez celebrates after defeating Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Canelo Alvarez hits Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Canelo Alvarez reacts before fighting Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Canelo Alvarez knocks down Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Microsoft has fired two employees who interrupted the company's 50th anniversary celebration to protest its work supplying artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military, according to a group representing the workers.

Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

The protests began Friday when Microsoft software engineer Ibtihal Aboussad walked up to a stage where an executive was announcing new product features and a long-term vision for Microsoft's AI ambitions.

“You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military," Aboussad shouted at Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. "Fifty-thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.”

The protest forced Suleyman to pause his talk, which was livestreamed from Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington. Among the participants at the 50th anniversary of Microsoft's founding were co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer.

“Thank you for your protest, I hear you,” Suleyman said. Aboussad continued, shouting that Suleyman and “all of Microsoft” had blood on their hands. She also threw onto the stage a keffiyeh scarf, which has become a symbol of support for Palestinian people, before being escorted out of the event.

A second protester, Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal, interrupted a later part of the event.

Aboussad was invited on Monday to a video call with a human resources representative at which she was told she was being terminated immediately. Agrawal was notified over email, according to the advocacy group No Azure for Apartheid, which has protested the sale of Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform to Israel.

An investigation by The Associated Press revealed earlier this year that AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI had been used as part of an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during the recent wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The story also contained details of an errant Israeli airstrike in 2023 that struck a vehicle carrying members of a Lebanese family, killing three young girls and their grandmother.

In February, five Microsoft employees were ejected from a meeting with CEO Satya Nadella for protesting the contracts.

“We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard,” said a statement from the company Friday. “Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards.”

Microsoft had declined to say Friday whether it was taking further action. Aboussad told the AP she lost access to her work accounts shortly after the protest and had not been able to log back in.

Dozens of Google workers were fired last year after internal protests surrounding a contract that the technology company has with the Israeli government. Employee sit-ins at Google offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California were targeting a $1.2 billion deal known as Project Nimbus providing AI technology to the Israeli government.

The Google workers later filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in an attempt to get their jobs back.

CORRECTS DATE - A pro-Palestinian demonstrator, Ibtihal Aboussad, is escorted away by security as they interrupt Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during a presentation of the company's AI assistant, Copilot, ahead of a 50th Anniversary presentation at Microsoft headquarters, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Redmond, Wash. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)