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Canelo Álvarez will reportedly be stripped of his IBF super middleweight title prior to his Sept. 14 fight against Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas.
According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Álvarez was stripped of the title as his mandatory defense against William Scull, IBF’s No. 1 contender, was overdue. Scull will now face off against No. 2 contender Vladimir Shiskin for the vacant title.
“Once we officially notify the involved parties we will issue a statement,” IBF president Daryl Peoples told Coppinger.
Álvarez will still go up against Berlanga, although his IBF super middleweight title is reportedly no longer on the line. Instead, he’ll look to defend his WBA, WBC and WBO titles against the 27-year-old.
After he lost to Dmitry Bivol in an attempt to secure the WBA light heavyweight title in 2022, Álvarez has won four straight fights to retain his super middleweight titles. This includes his most recent victory, a unanimous decision win over Jaime Munguía on May 4 to improve his overall record to 61-2-2 with 39 knockouts.
As for Berlanga, he’s coming off a February win over Padraig McCrory that kept him unbeaten with a 22-0 record. He started his career with 16 straight first-round knockouts, although his next five opponents lasted the distance.
Álvarez isn’t the only star boxer to be stripped of his IBF title as of late, with Oleksandr Usyk vacating his IBF heavyweight title after he took down Tyson Fury in May. As part of the move, Daniel Dubois was elevated from interim to full IBF champion (h/t CBS Sports’ Brent Brookhouse).
Before he attempts to recover his IBF super middleweight title, Álvarez will look to make it past Berlanga at T-Mobile Arena.
