Canelo Alvarez reveals the opponent who irritated him the most

Canelo Alvarez is preparing to face Edgar Berlanga on September 14 in Las Vegas, and the latter is known for his trash talk. At the same time, Berlanga has not held back in his criticism of the Mexican icon.

Berlanga, however, hasn’t really gotten under Alvarez’s skin. The future Hall-of-Famer named the former opponent who irritated him the most, and that was Billy Joe Saunders. Premier Boxing Champions posted the clip ahead of an interview with Alvarez, and he explained the bad bloodline between him and Saunders.

Watch the clip here:

“That f*****, pissed me off,” Alvarez said. “That’s why he got what he deserved.”

Alvarez earned an eighth-round TKO victory over Saunders when the latter failed to answer the ninth-round bell during their unification clash in May 2021. Alvarez entered the fight as the WBC super middleweight champion and captured Saunders’ WBO title in the victory.

Alvarez would go on to capture the IBF crown by defeating Caleb Plant six months later. “Some fighters talk to sell the fight or to sell themselves, but him, I think he’s a bad person and I really enjoy beating that guy,” Alvarez said. The two men had a memorable and seemingly personal confrontation during the lead-up to the bout.

Saunders may have been trying to sell the fight and himself, but in Alvarez’s eyes it went a bit too far. Alvarez seemed to take great pleasure in torturing Saunders over the course of eight rounds. Saunders took so many hits, and suffered a broken eye socket, that he has not fought since.

Saunders isn’t officially retired yet, but with more than three years since his last fight, it appears he’s done competing as a professional boxer. Alvarez has fought six times since meeting Saunders, going 5-1.

His only loss came via unanimous decision to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022. The fight with Berlanga is the next chapter in the Mexican-Puerto Rican boxing rivalry.

While Alvarez is the clear favorite, the event is still likely to draw a large crowd because of Alvarez’s star status and the fight’s cultural connections.

Here’s the full map for the September 14th event:

• (c) Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga – WBO and WBC super middleweight championship
• Erislandy Lara vs. Danny Garcia
• Caleb Plant vs. Trevor McCumby
• Stephen Fulton vs. Carlos Castro
• Rolando Romero vs Manuel Jaimes

It’s going to be a busy night in combat sports and Las Vegas. The UFC and Riyadh seasons present Noche UFC at the Sphere on the same night. It’s being billed as the most amazing live sporting event ever.

Who wins the day: Canelo or the UFC? We’ll find out next month.