Canelo Alvarez explained to the media at the last press conference today why he chose Egar Berlanga as his opponent for September 14, saying that he wanted him to become part of the “Mexico vs. Puerto Rico” rivalry.
Alvarez felt that Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), an American of Puerto Rican descent, would be the ideal opponent for him to defend his unified super middleweight titles at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
While Canelo’s rationale may not sit well with hardcore boxing fans, who would have preferred David Benavidez as his opponent, Berlanga is the one he chose for the Mexican Independence Day holiday.
“Mexico vs. Puerto Rico”
“I’ve fought with everyone. I was on vacation, and (coach) Eddy (Reynoso) called me. He worked on the fight. I told him, ‘I don’t care. I fought everybody,’ and I think it’s a good fight for the people. Mexico against Puerto Rico, there’s a lot of history there, and I think it’s a great match,” Canelo Alvarez said at the final press conference today, explaining why he chose Edgar Berlanga as his opponent for September 14.
Berlanga is not from Puerto Rico, but he identifies more with that country than the US, where he was born and lived his entire life. So, that makes him Puerto Rican in Canelo’s eyes for this fight.
“It was a lot of back and forth at the beginning because the numbers made sense,” Berlanga said of how long it took him to decide whether to take the Canelo fight when it was offered to him.
“I came out here in May (in Las Vegas) for when Canelo fought Munguia, and the fans were going crazy. They said, ‘We want you for September. We want you.’ The Mexican fans were going crazy,” Berlanga continued.
“Then I got the press conference in New York with Ryder, and Luis (Decubas) was there. I said, ‘Yo, we’ve got to make the fight happen in September. He reached out to Eddie (Hearn), and then we started working from there.
“After his (Canelo) win over Munguia, we started pushing the issue for the fight and we got it. People are going to say I’m not going to go the full 12 rounds because of my career and who I’ve fought. Seeing my name is a blessing,” Berlanga said.
