Edgar Berlanga compares himself to Floyd Mayweather Jr. about how people would order his fights on PPV, hoping to see him lose.
Challenger Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) feels he is in the same boat as Floyd heading into what many believe is an undeserved title shot against WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez this Saturday, September 14.
The Price Card Problem
Mayweather became quite rich despite being disliked by fans for his arrogant personality and boring fighting style. If Berlanga did his job promoting his fight against Canelo by angering fans with his cocky personality, their event could bring in a lot of PPV buys.
Working against Berlanga is the opportunity’s high price tag. It is sold for $89.99 on DAZN PPVmore than many boxing fans are willing to pay. That’s way too high for a fight that’s considered a mismatch and a terrible undercard.
It might do well if priced between $15 and $60, but not at $89.99. That’s the kind of price the Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao megafight sold for in 2015, and it was a much bigger matchup.
Nobody asked Canelo to fight Berlanga, and nobody demanded this fight, so it’s shocking that the organizers chose to sell it for $90.
They are counting on Canelo’s loyal fans choosing to scrape together the money to watch it. The regular fans won’t be interested because there is nothing in this match for the weak undercard to interest them.
The ‘Pay-Per-View Villain’
“He has been beaten before. So, it’s not like I’m fighting a guy who’s undefeated. We see holes and cracks in him. The dangerous thing about me is I’m always getting better,” said Edgar Berlanga on the All the Smoke YouTube channel, discussing his fight against Canelo Alvarez on Saturday night.
“With Floyd (Mayweather), everyone bought PPV just to see him lose. So, now I feel I’m in that position. A lot of people are going to buy the PPV just to see me get knocked out as long as they buy,” Berlanga said, comparing himself to Mayweather.
The difference between Berlanga and Floyd is that Mayweather beat great fighters during his career before turning into the guy fans paid to see lose later when he started to age. Berlanga skipped that part and went straight to a villain-type persona, and the fans who hate him will get their money’s worth when Canelo knocks him out on Saturday.
“I have to be great for 36 minutes that day. I know I have a lot of doubters out there, even with my race. You know, Puerto Rican. I’m going to convert them 1000% into believers that night. I feel now is my time to go out and shock the world,” said Berlanga.
It doesn’t seem likely that Berlanga will last 36 minutes looking good. If Berlanga performs like he did in his recent fight against Jason Quigley, he won’t even last half that time.
“For the haters out there, see you on September 14th. You all make me. When I turned pro, nobody wanted to sign me, and there were no promoters. It’s me against the world. It’s the sweetest victory. For that night it will be for the non-believers and the believers who believed in me,” said Berlanga.
People would believe Berlanga if he had the guts to fight some quality fighters over the past eight years. That he chose not to fight David Morrell when he had the chance to face him shows that he is not for real and is just another fighter built by his promoters to make a big cash- fight against Canelo.
In other words, Berlanga is Jaime Munguia 2.0. This is a guy who many believe his entire career has been built to get a massive payday fight against Canelo. He never fought anyone well until he got the Canelo fight and was hopelessly overmatched last May when he finally got the life-changing payday.
Puerto Rican fighters have 79 wins over Mexican opposition 👀🇵🇷#CaneloBerlanga | 14 Sep | Live on DAZN: Click link in bio to buy 🥊@premierboks | @EdgarBerlangaJr | @matchroomboxing pic.twitter.com/3OxPg9j8sh
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 10, 2024
