Edgar Berlanga Wildly Compares Canelo Loss to Michael Jordan vs Kobe Bryant

Edgar Berlanga still does not believe he gets enough credit for fighting Canelo Alvarez the way he did.

To most people, the 28-year-old competed admirably as a heavy underdog, but still lost a convincing 12-round decision. However, to Berlanga, it was an all-time war that he believes is equivalent to two of the greatest NBA players of all time going at it.

Berlanga said his fight with Alvarez "looked like Kobe vs. Michael Jordan."

"Canelo wanted to take my head off, man, but I was ready," Berlanga said on The Danza Project on YouTube. "We went 12 rounds, and it was back-and-forth. He was low-blowing me, I was low-blowing him back. I was talking s*** to him. It looked like Kobe vs. Michael Jordan. It was that type of s---."

Edgar Berlanga continues celebrating his greatest achievement in surviving 12 rounds with Canelo Alvarez, a fight he LOST!

He WILDLY says his fight was like Michael Jordan vs Kobe Bryant 😳, I dunno which one Saul was but I do know Edgar is NOT Jordan or Kobe.@Thedanzaproject pic.twitter.com/Cyocs70faP
— Boxing Massacre (@BoxingMassacre) April 25, 2026

Jordan and Bryant did not overlap in the NBA for long, and the time they did share in the league occurred at the tail end of the former's legendary career. However, the term "Jordan vs. Kobe" is used sparingly when referring to two of the greatest of all time going head-to-head.

The numbers certainly do not suggest a Jordan vs. Bryant-like battle. Alvarez out-landed Berlanga 201-119, according to Compubox. None of the judges scored more than three of the 12 rounds for Berlanga, giving Alvarez a fairly one-sided title defense.

Berlanga might have felt like a legend in the heat of the moment, but comparing himself to either Jordan or Bryant is a bridge too far. The Brooklyn native has not even won a world title and has a ways to go before being in the same conversation as one of the 10 best players in a sport's history.

Edgar Berlanga begins new chapter with Zuffa Boxing

UFC CEO Dana White | Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images

As well as Berlanga feels he did against Alvarez, he will likely never get a rematch opportunity. The 35-year-old Alvarez is admittedly down to the final few fights of his career, which Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season will use on the most lucrative opportunities they can find.

Berlanga has gone 1-1 since losing to Alvarez. He beat Jonathan Ortiz by first-round knockout in a tune-up fight six months after his first professional loss before losing to Hamzah Sheeraz in a main event bout in July 2025.

Berlanga has since become one of the latest high-profile signings of Zuffa Boxing, signing with the promotion on the same day as former IBF super lightweight champion Richardson Hitchins.

He will likely make his debut in the second half of 2026.

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