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!”
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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)
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)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate quickly confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state Monday, voting unanimously to give President Donald Trump the first member of his new Cabinet on Inauguration Day.
Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, is among the least controversial of Trump’s nominees and vote was decisive, 99-0. Another pick, John Ratcliffe for CIA director, is also expected to have a swift vote, as soon as Tuesday. Action on others, including former combat veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, is possible later in the week.
“Marco Rubio is a very intelligent man with a remarkable understanding of American foreign policy,” Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the senior-most Republican, said as the chamber opened.
It’s often tradition for the Senate to convene immediately after the ceremonial pomp of the inauguration to begin putting the new president’s team in place, particularly the national security officials. During Trump’s first term, the Senate swiftly confirmed his defense and homeland security secretaries on day one, and President Joe Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence was confirmed on his own Inauguration Day.
With Trump’s return to the White House, and his Republican Party controlling majorities in Congress, his outsider Cabinet choices are more clearly falling into place, despite initial skepticism and opposition from both sides of the aisle.
Rubio, who was surrounded by colleagues in the Senate chamber, said afterward he feels “good, but there’s a lot of work ahead.”
“It’s an important job in an important time, and I’m honored by it,” Rubio said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved quickly Monday, announcing he expected voting to begin “imminently” on Trump’s nominees.
Democrats have calculated it's better for them to be seen as more willing to work with Trump, rather than simply mounting a blockade to his nominees. They're holding their opposition for some of his other picks who have less support, including Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party will “neither rubber-stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified, nor oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration.”
Rubio, he said, is an example of "a qualified nominee we think should be confirmed quickly."
Senate committees have been holding lengthy confirmation hearings on more than a dozen of the Cabinet nominees, with more to come this week. And several panels are expected to meet late Monday to begin voting to advance the nominees to the full Senate for confirmation.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously advanced Rubio's nomination late Monday. The Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, voted to move the nominations of Hegseth and Ratcliffe. And the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee advanced nominees Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary and Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget, but with opposition.
Rubio, a well-liked senator and former Trump rival during the 2016 presidential race, has drawn closer to the president in recent years. He appeared last week to answer questions before the Foreign Relations Committee, where he has spent more than a decade as a member.
As secretary of state, Rubio would be the nation’s top diplomat, and the first Latino to hold the position. Born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, he has long been involved in foreign affairs, particularly in South America, and has emerged as a hawk on China’s rise.
During his confirmation hearing last week, Rubio warned of the consequences of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China. While he echoes Trump’s anti-globalist rhetoric, Rubio is also seen as an internationalist who understands the power of U.S. involvement on the global stage.
Rubio cultivated bipartisan support from across the aisle, both Republicans and Democrats. He takes over for outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has said he hopes the Trump administration continues Biden's policies in the Middle East to end the war in Gaza and to help Ukraine counter Russian nomination.
The Senate is split 53-47, but the resignation of Vice President JD Vance and, soon, Rubio drops the GOP majority further until their successors arrive. Republicans need almost all every party member in line to overcome Democratic opposition to nominees.
Objection from any one senator, as is expected with Hegseth and several other choices, would force the Senate into procedural steps that would drag voting later into the week.
Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks, other nominees and appointments, pose for a photo at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. First row from left, Elise Stefanik, John Ratcliffe, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Howard Lutnick, Pete Hegseth, Doug Burgum, Brooke L. Rollins, Marco Rubio and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; second row from left, Scott Turner, Tulsi Gabbard, Sean Duffy, Linda McMahon, Lee Zeldin, Kristi Noem, Chris Wright, Doug Collins, Kelly Loeffler and Scott Bessent; and third row from left, Stephen Miran, Jamieson Greer, Kevin Hassett, Kash Patel and Russell Vought. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a nominee for Secretary of State, attends the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)