This time last year, legendary boxing commentator and journalist Jim Lampley was planning, with great media and public fanfare, his return to ringside after a nearly five-year hiatus from boxing due to HBO Sports ending its more than three decades run as the “Heart & Soul of Boxing.” Jim had been ringside for HBO Sports’ last 30 years of presenting boxing, which ended on Dec. 8, 2018. The streaming platform PPV.COM, which does not require a subscription, brought Jim back, for the Canelo Álvarez – Jermell Charlo super middleweight world championship fight, on Sept. 30, 2023. As fate would have it, Jim returns next week for his PPV.COM one-year anniversary (less 16 days) once again co-hosting the exclusive and wildly popular viewer chat, in real time, throughout another card headlined by a Canelo title defense, this time against undefeated Edgar Berlanga. The PPV.COM HD live stream of the Canelo-Berlanga championship event will take place next Saturday, Sept. 14, beginning at 8 p.m. ET, from T-Mobile Arena. Priced at $89.99, it can be ordered by clicking here: PPV.COM – Canelo vs. Berlanga. Below, please find Jim’s pre-fight analysis.
PPV.COM‘s JIM LAMPLEY’S CANELO vs. BERLANGA ANALYSIS
“This fight portrays a classic archetype: the straightforward power puncher (Berlanga) versus the super-skilled and multi-dimensional power counterpuncher (Canelo). You’d be hard-pressed to find a qualified observer outside of Berlanga’s inner circle who would pick him to win. The one predictive factor that would open the door for Berlanga would be that after all the spectacular accomplishments of his long and lucrative career, Canelo is unconsciously ready to go off the diving board. He wouldn’t be the first, but his terrific performance in his last fight against the talented Jaime Munguia suggested we’re not there yet. Logic says Edgar Berlanga is exactly the kind of canvas on which Canelo Álvarez can paint another masterpiece on the way to a more difficult challenge and a much larger paycheck: David Benavidez.”
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Joining Lampley on the live viewer chat will be award-winning boxing journalist Lance Pugmire and popular podcast hosts Dan Canobbio and former WBO junior welterweight world champion Chris Algieri. Jim, Lance, Dan, and Chris will also be providing exclusive fight week commentary and reports from Las Vegas for PPV.COM‘s website and social platforms.
The Canelo vs. Berlanga pay-per-view live stream undercard will feature three exciting bouts, including: WBA middleweight world champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs), a three-time Cuban national champion fighting out of Houston, Texas, defending his title against former two-division world champion and boxing legend Danny “Swift” Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs), from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (22-2, 13 KOs), a native of Nashville, Tennessee, now fighting out of Las Vegas, battling Yorkville, Illinois native Trevor McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs), who fights out of Glendale, Arizona, for the interim WBA super middleweight world title; and in the opening bout, former WBA super lightweight world champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero (15-2, 13 KOs), from Las Vegas, will go mano a mano with Manuel Jaimes (16-1-1, 11 KOs), from Stockton, California, in a 10-round junior welterweight rumble.
PPV.COM, which does not require a subscription, will offer Canelo vs. Berlanga for $89.99 in the U.S. and Canada. iNDEMAND, the parent company of PPV.COM, will also be carrying the event through its network of cable and telco operators in the U.S. and Canada via providers including Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, Optimum, Fios, Rogers, Bell, SaskTel, and Telus, among others.
