Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is looking to turn the tide against knockout boxer Edgar Berlanga on Saturday, saying he will go for a knockout himself when he defends his three super middleweight world boxing titles in Las Vegas.

“It’s easy to say you’re going to knock me out, but it’s much harder to actually do it,” said Alvarez, who puts his World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization titles on the line against the top-ranked WBA contender in the 168-pound class.

Alvarez lost his International Boxing Federation title in July when he decided to fight Berlanga instead of IBF fighter William Scull.

“Saturday night is going to be very difficult for him, that’s for sure. I’ve been preparing for the knockout. I like the feeling of a knockout. I’m going to do my best to make it happen.”

The 34-year-old Alvarez comes with a 61-2-2 record and 39 knockouts into what promises to be an explosive showdown at T-Mobile Arena, where he continues his tradition of fighting on Mexican Independence Day weekend.

“It’s going to be a shootout,” promised the Puerto Rican-born American Berlanga. “I’m going to make everyone a believer.”

Berlanga broke onto the professional scene, winning his first 16 fights by knockout.

He won five unanimous decisions before defeating Padraig McCrory by a brutal sixth-round technical knockout in February, taking his record to 22-0 with 17 knockouts.

The 27-year-old says he can do it again against the highly experienced champion.

“I’m a knockout artist,” he said. “Every fighter wants to be knocked out. We know he’s a legend and we can’t just go for the fences.

“We have to do it the right way. Knockout in the sixth round, that’s what we’re going for. But we’re ready for all twelve rounds if necessary.”

Alvarez has a number of impressive knockouts to his name in a career that has seen him win titles in four divisions.

But his last win inside that distance was an 11th-round technical knockout of Caleb Plant in 2021.

Since his May 2022 loss to Dmitry Bivol, an unfortunate move up to light heavyweight, Alvarez has won four unanimous decisions, most recently over fellow countryman Jaime Munguia in May. It was his fourth defense of the undisputed world title.

Alvarez was dominant, if not stunning, against Munguia. He weathered the initial storm but took control in the middle rounds, knocking Munguia down once before handing him his first defeat.

– ‘Still the best’ –

With the lead-up to each fight raising questions about his future, Alvarez says he doesn’t feel like he’s slowing down.

“I just want to show everybody that I’m still the best,” he said. “I still love this sport. If I don’t love it anymore, you’ll know.”

On the undercard, World Boxing Association middleweight champion Erislandy Lara will defend his title against fellow American Danny Garcia, a former welterweight and light welterweight world champion. It is an intriguing match-up that many wished they had seen sooner.

Cuban-born southpaw Lara, 41, returned in March after a nearly two-year absence, stunningly defeating Australian Michael Zerafa to retain his title, improving his record to 30-3-3 with 18 wins inside that distance.

The 36-year-old Garcia is fighting for the first time since his majority decision win over Jose Benavidez in a super welterweight bout in July 2022.

That win moved Garcia’s record to 37-3 with 21 knockouts.

bb/bsp