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)

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — More than 100 wildfires stretched thousands of firefighters to the limit in northern Portugal on Wednesday, with seven deaths since the worst spate of fires in recent years spread out of control over the weekend.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro declared a state of calamity for the hardest-hit areas late on Tuesday, invoking powers to mobilize more firefighters and civil servants. He also called on police investigators to redouble their efforts to find those who started the fires and pledged help for those who have lost their homes or have been evacuated.

“We are well aware that these difficult hours are not over yet,” Montenegro told the nation in a televised address. “We have to continue to give everything we have and ask for help from our partners and friends so that we can reinforce the protection of our people and property.”

The European Copernicus satellite service said that over 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) had been scorched and a combined 13 kilometers (8 miles) of fire fronts had been detected as on Tuesday night. It added that an area home to 210,000 people was exposed to the fire risk.

The hot, dry conditions behind the outbreaks in Portugal coincided this week with flooding in central Europe. The European Union said Wednesday that the juxtaposed extreme weather phenomena are proof of a “climate breakdown. ”

Fellow European Union members Spain, France, Italy and Greece have committed two water-dropping aircraft each to help Portuguese firefighters.

Spain’s military is also sending 240 soldiers and vehicles from its emergency response battalions specialized in combating fires to its neighbor.

Thick grey smoke and the smell of burnt wood reached some 85 kilometers across the border into northwest Spain.

Montenegro made a special call for security forces to pursue both arsonists and any individuals who started a fire out of negligence. Portuguese national police said that they have arrested seven men suspected of having started wildfires in recent days. Authorities have prohibited the use of heavy farming equipment to reduce the risk of inadvertently starting a blaze.

Among the hardest hit areas is the district of Aveiro, south of the northern city of Porto, but several major blazes were also raging out of control in other wooded areas.

Authorities have yet to release figures for property damage or the number of evacuees, but Portuguese state broadcaster RTP has shown charred houses in rural villages and local residents trying to battle flames with buckets of water, hoses, and even large tree branches. Other televised images showed visibility reduced to a few meters as orange smoke enveloped the terrain.

Three firefighters died in their vehicle on Tuesday, while another had succumbed to what authorities called a “sudden illness” while on duty over the weekend. Three civilians have also perished, according to civil protection authorities.

Portugal was devasted by massive fires in 2017 that killed over 120 people.

Experts link the fires to both climate change and the abandonment of traditional farming and forestry professions that helped keep rural areas clear of underbrush that is now fuel for fires.

Joseph Wilson wrote from Barcelona, Spain. Teresa Medrano contributed from Pontevedra, Spain.

Clouds of smoke drift with the strong wind as fires rage on the hills around Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

A fire burns on a hillside near Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Fires rage on the hills around Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Tuesday night, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

A fire rages on the hills around Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Tuesday night, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Wildfire advances near Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

A woman tries to extinguish the flames near Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Firefighters work to control a fire next to warehouses in Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by wildfires fires, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

A car drives past a road closed by police as a wildfire burns close to it, near Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Monday night, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)

Vehicles drive past a fire burning by the road near Sever do Vouga, a town in northern Portugal that has been surrounded by forest fires, Monday night, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruno Fonseca)