Edgar Berlanga came out of the woodwork last night to call out super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco in his moment of glory following his win over Steven Nelson in Las Vegas. Berlanga posted on social media and said he wanted to give him a “big payday.”
The call of the recently defeated Brooklyn, New York native Berlanga reeks of influence-chasingis trying to get cheap publicity by challenging #1 WBO Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) after his dominant performance against Nelson (20-1, 16 KOs) at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas last Saturday night.
Promoter Eddie Hearn says he would be open to a fight between Berlanga and Pacheco. However, he seemed skeptical, as if he didn’t believe that Edgar was serious about wanting to fight Diego. Hearn is a wise owl who knows that a Berlanga-Pacheco clash has very little chance of happening.
The Canelo Effect
Berlanga’s money demands are likely to be sky high after the huge purse he received for his successful title fight against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. Like many fighters Canelo faces, he is likely spoiled and wants similar dough in his next fight. It’s not going to happen.
Even if the Berlanga vs. Pacheco fight plays up the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry, the matchup won’t bring in PPV buys. It’s not worth being sold on pay-per-view, and it would require Turki Al-Sheikh to get involved to pay the kind of money Berlanga likely wants.
There was talk of Berlanga wanting to fight the 39-year-old Gabe Rosado next in Puerto Rico to capitalize on his popularity in that country. He was treated like a hero after his loss to Canelo. The craftsman Rosado is right up Berlanga’s alley.
Berlanga was last seen losing to Canelo Alvarez on September 14 by a 12-round unanimous decision by these scores: 118-109, 117-110 and 118-109.
I give that young boy a big payday and a big ass 😂🤜🏼🤛🏼 you only get paid 200k for a fight sheesh 😂😂😂😂😂
— Edgar Berlanga Jr (@EdgarBerlangaJr) January 26, 2025
